


Sapphire's Redemption

by thegriffin88



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist, Original Work
Genre: Black Jack (Tezuka), Complete, F/M, Fantasy, Fever, Fever Dreams, Griffins, Hurt/Comfort, Major Illness, Major Original Character(s), Major character progression, Original Character(s), Other, Requited Unrequited Love, Romance, Vomiting, crossovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-03
Updated: 2014-02-24
Packaged: 2017-11-28 02:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 30,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/669324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegriffin88/pseuds/thegriffin88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sapphire isn't human, she's a griffin from the magical land of Karma. [(c) me] Once one of the greatest healers known, Sapphire has since abandoned her trade to live a lonely existence in the far reaches of the North. After damning the Gods one too many times they finally decide to teach her a lesson: By making her a Traveler to an impossible alchemist.</p><p>Join Kimblee and Sapphire as they embark on a wonderful tale about romance, friendship, forgiveness and healing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

** Sapphire’s Redemption **

 

**Prologue**

                _“So, let me get this straight,” said the blue griffin to the large, glowing mammal that was the god of redemption, “you plucked me out of the mountains to send me to…another mountain?”_

_“Precisely. This mountain, the mountain of Briggs in the world known as Amestris, is to be your new home until you complete your mission.”_

_“Which is?” growled the griffin._

_“The same of any traveler: To Protect and serve your ward. Defend him from the god of Chaos at all costs and ensure that he fulfills his role in the fabric of time.”_

_“And how will I know what that role is?”_

_“You will…you will…” Ekundayo smiled, before vanishing in a swirl of glowing particles._


	2. Chapter 1: Start With a Bang

**Chapter 1: Start With a Bang**

                Sapphire shielded her eyes with her paw as she tried to take in her surroundings. There had been a big explosion when she had landed and she registered that she was in the middle of a blizzard. She blinked a bit to clear snow out of her eyes and squinted into the distance. She saw a train stopped on the tracks. She sniffed the air; there was blood, lots of it.

                _“You must make haste.”_ Ekundayohad said. _“And take all your skills with you.”_

                “I need a drink…” Sapphire grumbled as she approached the train. She could now hear voices.

                “Don’t stop this train!” someone hissed.

                _“He’s been in prison for a number of years now, so his people skills are about equal to yours.”_

                “Dumb animal…” Sapphire spat.

                She sauntered up to the back of the train and took in the sight:

                There was a man, with long black hair tied in a ponytail, dressed nicely in a style that reminded her of the humans who lived in Harmonia, and two others who appeared to be engineers of the train. But it was the black haired man, the one who had spoken; that Sapphire instinctively knew was her ward. And he seemed to have gotten himself impaled with an iron pipe to the railcar. Sapphire grinned…and then threw a complete tantrum.

                “What the hell Ekun?! You bring me here to heal?! I thought I told you I gave that up!!!! You baited me you mutt! You cur, you-you….ARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!” She grabbed a paw full of snow and tossed it into the sky before using her water-based magic to turn it into icicles.

                That out of her system, Sapphire hopped up on the train and began inspecting her ward.

                “You two,” she said to the engineers who were standing there, awestruck, “make yerselves useful and get me a bucket.”

                As they ran to obey her order she approached the man once again, her talons glinting in the low lamp-light.

                “Keep away from me! What the hell are you?!” the man spat as Sapphire moved to probe his wound.

                “Would you shut yer yapper?! I’m a trained healer!” Sapphire snapped back.

                The man seemed almost taken aback. This gave Sapphire enough time to get her claws into his wound. By the time the engineers had returned with a pail, he had recovered.

                “Get the hell off of me!” he shouted.

                He tried to wriggle away, but failed seeing as he was attached to the train car and really only succeeded in making his wound bleed more.

                “Watch it! You wanna get yerself killed or something?!” Sapphire squawked, pressing her paw up against the edges of the wound, attempting to stop the blood flow. With a wave of her paw a large mass of snow was dragged up from their surroundings and instantly changed to water, which she used to fill the pail with nothing more than a little flick of her paw. Ignoring the astonished looks on the human’s faces, she continued her exploration.

“Hmm, looks like he swallowed something.” she mumbled.

She held up two red stones, almost invisible against the blood on her paws.

“Wait…don’t…” the man gasped, reaching for them.

“Relax,” Sapphire said as she tossed them into the pail of water, “you’ll get your pretty red rocks back.” She turned to the engineers. “I’m going to need some bolt cutters and a hot poker.”

                “What the hell are you doing to me?” the man rasped, he coughed and spit up some blood.

                “Your iliac arteries are in serious danger. If you move even an inch you could rupture them and bleed out faster than you can say ‘oh shit’.”

                Startled by this, the man slumped back, allowing her to examine him. He watched as she took a cigarette out from some sort of pouch hidden in her thick feathers and lit it with a flick of a silver lighter.

                “Those things’ll kill ya.” He slurred from blood loss.

                “Says the man with a pipe in his stomach.” The creature drawled.

                Just then the two engineers came back with the tools she had requested.

                “Right, let’s get this over with.” The creature grumbled.

                She took the bolt cutters and began to gently work through the excess pipe, eventually causing it to fall off with a resounding clang.

                “ ’kay, this is gonna hurt.” She said, “on three….one…” And with that she yanked the pipe from his stomach.

                Quick as a flash she grabbed the poker and pressed it into the wound, cauterizing every leaking vessel. The man’s screams of agony fell on deaf ears as she unflinchingly burned away the torn flesh. At last she removed the poker and dropped it into the snow. She looked up at her ward, he had fainted. Then she turned to the two engineers, who were standing by looking horrified.

                “Got any place you can put him? Somewhere warm and dry. He needs to get to a hospital as soon as possible.”

                As the engineers gently picked up the wounded man Sapphire sighed and ground her cigarette into the snow.

                “Well now, this should be interesting.” She smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Sapphire's approach to ripping the pipe out of him. Although if you ask her she'd say that if she had waited until three he would have tensed and she'd have ripped his guts out along with the pipe. Also, she's a jerk.


	3. Chapter 2: Welcome to the First Day of the Rest of your Life

Sapphire sighed and exhaled a cloud of smoke as she leaned against the side of what was now the back of the train.

                “Alchemist? What’s that?” she asked.

                “They’re like magicians!” the engineer said.

“Yeah,” added one of the workers, “they can do anything!”       

Sapphire just stared at them, her cigarette burning down.

 “Well it sounds like you two don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I’ll go ask him myself.”

                She had instinctively known that her ward was now awake and quite confused about his surroundings.

***       

Kimblee woke up and his soldier training immediately kicked in. He took in his surroundings; he could hear the huffing and puffing of the train’s steam engine. The wall he was lying next to provided a comfortable heat source and he seemed to be resting on some old blankets and a small pillow.

                _“Somewhere near the furnace then…”_ He decided.

                “Oh hey, you’re awake! I didn’t expect you to be up before we got to Briggs, that’s quite a nasty wound you’ve got.”

                Kimblee slowly turned; it was the train’s conductor.

                “How…how long.” Kimblee asked, wincing at his dry throat.

                “To Briggs? Oh only another forty-five minutes. It’s a good thing you taught your chimera about medicine. You would’ve bled out long before we got there if it wasn’t for her.”

                “She’s not…my chimera…” Kimblee rasped. God his throat was killing him.

 _“Wait…the stones…”_ Kimblee suddenly remembered her removing them from his stomach.

                He looked around franticly before spotting something red glinting. He quickly snatched up the stones intending to swallow them when the blue creature came bursting through the door.

“Gods, you in love with those rocks or something?”

                He clenched the stones between his teeth, prepared to swallow them again. But in a flash the creature had crossed the length of the room and snatched them.

                “You one of those loons who swallows things? Eh…Pica?”

                She snatched up a rag and held up one of her paws, a ball of water forming in it from thin air. Kimblee looked on, astonished. She wet the washcloth and threw it in his face.

                “Let’s get this straight. I don’t want to be here, you don’t want to be here. The less we see of each other the better.” She turned to leave. “Clean your wounds, don’t move, and if you think you’re gonna be sick there’s a bucket next to the furnace.”

                She slammed the door shut and that’s when Kimblee realized she had taken the stones with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sapphire takes out her anger on a downed human. Just wait till the biting starts.


	4. Chapter 3: Multiple Universes

_A horrible pain pierced his side, he screamed in agony, or tried to anyway, as his throat filled with blood and he gagged. The snow whipping around him turned to sand and the image of Scar faded into someone familiar…red hair…green eyes…_

Kimblee lurched up from the bed he was lying in, grabbing at his side. Pain shot through his body at the unexpected movement and he bit his lip to stifle a pained whimper. His palm slid over bandages wrapped across his mid-section, trying to make sense of what was going on.

"It's just a bandage. It's not gonna eat ya," someone mumbled, their voice slurred with sleep.

Kimblee glanced warily around, I.V.’s, curtains, the heady odor of disinfectant. He fought not to gag, he was in a hospital; his golden eyes finally settled on the room's other occupant.

The blue creature was sitting up, yawning wide, her blue coat reflecting in the moonlight so that she developed a blue aura. She was perched on another gurney that had been moved to his bedside, her gaze flickered sleepily over Kimblee.

"What are you doing here?" Kimblee whispered, wincing at how raw his throat was.

The creature ran a paw over her face.

“Sleeping. What the hell does it look like?" she mumbled before correcting herself, "Well, actually, I _was_ sleeping and then you started freaking out and I thought you were gonna fall off the damn bed."

Kimblee was slow to respond, his mind made sluggish from the painkillers currently being pumped into his body.

                “How…how did I get here…” He rasped.

                The blue creature chuckled.

                “Boy have you been out of it. Well, let me tell you…”

                _Sapphire watched as the medics loaded her ward into the ambulance. As they were securing him in the back of the van she sensed that something wasn’t right. In a flash she leapt into the van and turned her ward on his side as he vomited the blood that had been pooling in his stomach…right onto an EMT._

_“He’s got a belly full of blood,” Sapphire explained to the now traumatized young man, “get used to him being sick every time you move him.”_

Kimblee lay there, stunned and horrified by what had transpired. His logical self kept telling him that he really couldn’t help it, but his prideful side wanted to go hide under the biggest rock in Amestris. He was startled out of his thoughts when he felt a poke in his side. He looked down and saw that the creature had her claws in his bandages.

                “Get off of me!” he snapped, trying to wriggle away.

                She smacked his arm in response.

                “You were thrashing around so much I need to see if you tore your stitches out or not you moron.” She growled.

                Still incredulous, Kimblee watched her guardedly. She pulled back the gauzed wrapped around his abdomen and, ascertaining that everything was in order, reached into whatever sort of pouch she kept hidden in her feathers and removed a bit of reddish-brown moss.

                “What the hell is that stuff?” Kimblee hissed.

                “Kirti’s fur, or as I’ve heard it called in other worlds: Bloodmoss. It’s a medicinal plant that increases blood cell production and yadda yadda yadda, look, the point is it’ll help you heal.”

                Before Kimblee had a chance to protest, the creature had packed the stuff underneath the bandages and secured them. He tried to sit up to get a look at what she had just done to him but fell back with a pained groan. It was then that he decided to ask the question that had been plaguing him since yesterday.

                “What are you?”

                “A griffin.” The creature huffed, irritated for whatever reason. “My name is Sapphire.”

                “A chimera then.” Kimblee attempted to reason, certainly there were no real griffins.

                “No, a griffin. Unless that’s what you call something that’s half bird half cat around here.” She grumbled.

                “A chimera is two or more creatures alchemically melded together.” Kimblee explained. “And usually they don’t talk.”

                “I wasn’t created, I was hatched the normal way thank-you very much,” the creature said huffily, “And anyway I’m not even from here, in case you haven’t noticed I can use water magic.”

                To prove her point she flicked her paw and a globule of water from the pitcher on the nightstand rose into the air. The creature looked thoughtful for a moment but then let the water drop back into the pitcher.

                “Consider yourself lucky, I was about to soak you.” She growled.

                Kimblee was staring at her wide-eyed. No alchemy could ever do that.

                “You, you’re really not from here. What was that just now? Xing alchemy? Or something else?” he asked.

                “Water magic.” The creature replied, “I just told you I’m not from here, I’m from Karma.”

                “Where is that? From the North? Or the West?”

                “No, from another world entirely, a world completely separate from yours. Karma is a land of floating islands, and everyone there can use a particular element of magic. Mine is water, but the others are fire, earth, darkness, and lightning. I was chosen by the gods of that world to guard you, because the god of calamity wants your soul. In addition, I’m supposed to help you achieve something. I have absolutely no clue what that is but that’s my story, one part of it anyways.”

                Kimblee looked dazed. Sapphire chuckled again.

                “Get some sleep.” She said, flicking the I.V. tube.

                She was about to go and settle back down when she heard the rustling to blankets. The griffin turned and noticed her ward shivering.

                “What’s up with you?” she asked, even though she could already guess.

                “It’s cold…” Kimblee said after a while, his voice wavering.

                Sapphire raised one feathery eyebrow. Her ward had lost a lot of blood even though she had cauterized his wound, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise that his body was having trouble regulating its temperature. She tapped her talons against the tile floor before, with an exasperated grumble, heaving herself onto Kimblee’s bed.

                “Shove over.” she grumped.

                Before he had a chance to react, let alone protest, Kimblee was (gently) shoved a little to the left as a warm bulk settled itself on his right side and a large blue wing flopped over him.

                “Now go to sleep Stringbean.” The lump muttered.

                Kimblee smirked, and closed his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behold the obligatory explanation chapter!
> 
> I own the land of Karama, and it's part of an original series I'm writing so my main thing in fanfiction is to throw it into the mix. The only time that doesn't happen is in two of my other works. There's one other work actually that incorporates a griffin traveler but you won't see it here, it's too crappy.


	5. Chapter 4: Ravens, Bluebirds and Ermines

_“Do you really have to go?”_

_“This is my destiny. You know that.”_

_“Well then, take care Stringbean.”_

_Wait…_

_“Stringbean! Stringbean!”_

Kimblee startled awake as something punched him hard in the arm.

                “Ow!” He hissed, turning to glare daggers at the blue creature by his bed. “What the hell was that for?!”

                “There’s some guy here and he won’t quit staring at me.” She grumbled.

                Kimblee turned again and came face to face with a tan-skinned man with white hair.

 _“Who the hell wears shades indoors?”_ Kimblee thought sourly. He didn’t like not being able to see his eyes, that’s how he could read people; and in his current state he needed any leverage he could get.

                “Your aura is shifting spectrums.” Sapphire muttered as she lit a cigarette, blatantly ignoring the signs that warned against such behavior. “I had no idea that Candy Apple Red was an aura color.”

                Kimblee rolled his eyes and turned back to the man. From his uniform he could tell that he was a Major at Ft. Briggs.

                “Greetings, I am Major Miles with Ft. Briggs.” The man said, pulling up a chair, “We sent out a patrol but they didn’t find the bodies of either Scar or the guy he was with in the freight cars that got cut loose, which means they’re most likely alive and hiding somewhere around here.”

                “That’s right.” Kimblee said, too tired to bother with formalities.

                “Understood.” Miles said, getting up to leave, “Leave Scar to us and focus on your recovery.”

                “Not so fast.” Kimblee said.

                Sapphire lazily watched his aura shift from Candy Apple to Crimson.

                “This is my assignment.” Kimblee said, a slight edge in his voice, “I’m only warning the soldiers of Briggs as a courtesy. The Ishbalan is my prey.”

                Sapphire flicked one ear forward as Miles’ aura shifted to deep sanguine, flickering like static. He took off his glasses.

                “Sorry pal. We Briggs soldiers aren’t about to let a mass murder roam free on our turf. The only law here is survival of the fittest.” He leaned in close and Sapphire stared into the depths of his red eyes, a look of mild curiosity on her face. “Let your guard down for one second and you die. Am I making myself clear?”

                Kimblee’s aura was now a vibrant cyan, but growing grayer by the second.

                “What can you do in your condition Crimson.” Miles said, referring to her ward as he fingered the I.V. “Keep up the tough guy act and I’ll cut your lifeline right now.”

                To her surprise, Kimblee chuckled and patted her on the head.

                “I don’t think my…companion, would be too keen on that.” He said.

                “Kill the poor bastard, see what I care.” Sapphire growled.

                Kimblee’s aura flashed white for a second. Miles stood up and put his glasses back on.

                “Briggs has been ordered to look after you so keep out of trouble.” He slammed the door on his way out.

                “Touch me again Stringbean and you’ll be walking away with a few less fingers.” Sapphire warned the second he was gone. 

                But Kimblee only laughed.

                “Those Ishbalan’s certainly are an interesting lot.” He said, mostly to himself.

                “Is that what he is? Some sort of human race I gather. And what was all that about you being a murderer. It won’t change our relationship, trust me I can’t think any less of you.”

                “There was a war not too long ago.” Kimblee said, still smirking. “My race was hired out to exterminate his. They fought back so valiantly that they fascinated me.”

                “And the murder part?”

                “I killed a few superior officers with my alchemy. My specialty is explosions.”

                Sapphire watched the corners of his mouth twitch with a suppressed chuckle, the edges of his Canary Yellow aura danced like waves.

                “You’re insane.” She concluded.

                “Hm, and what about you?  You told me about your world but nothing of yourself.”

                Sapphire opened her mouth and was about to reply when the doors opened again and this time two more people walked in. The first one, a darker skinned, older gentleman with a beard and mustache, smiled and gave a friendly wave.

                “Hello Kimblee, how are you holding up?” he asked.

                “You’re early.” Kimblee replied, “Sapphire this is Lieutenant General Raven. He’s sort of my…commander.”

                Sapphire just looked up at Raven and blinked, clearly unimpressed.

                “Yeah, look, I’m here by divine order to protect your psychopath here. Think of me as a big blue bodyguard. I’m not from here, I’m from another universe and you couldn’t kick me out even if you tried. Face it, you’re stuck with me.”

                Raven laughed, he seemed to be taking the news very well.

                “Alright then, if you insist. I really should thank you though. Without your help my friend here would have perished last night.”

                Sapphire just blinked again. Raven turned to Kimblee.

                “I came as soon as I heard the news. We were worried about you.”

                Kimblee chuckled and held up the two stones Sapphire had seen him so intent to hang on to.

                “Let’s be honest General. What you’re really worried about, are these.”              

                Raven smiled. But Sapphire could see that his aura was a very ugly yellow-green, something about those rocks was evil, but he seemed to know that and was happy they were safe none the less. Overjoyed in fact. Sapphire did not like it one little bit.

                “Good, Raven said, continue with your assignment.”

                Kimblee looked shocked, his aura flashing silver. He couldn’t even sit up at the moment, let alone go search for his attacker.

                “But in my condition…” he said.

                But that’s when Raven stepped aside to allow the other man through. He was short and gnarled with a gold tooth and smelled like disinfectant and something else Sapphire didn’t recognize.

                “Don’t worry,” Raven said, “I’ve brought along a doctor who can use alchemy to speed your recovery. And we have the stone. You’ll be good as new in no time.”

                Sapphire definetly decided that she didn’t like this Raven person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gen. Raven is the raven, Sapphire is the bluebird and Miles is the ermine. It's a joke from one of the bonuses in the manga.
> 
> So, just moving the story along. Fun things happen in the next chapter.
> 
> I honestly wish I had a chance to give Sapphire and Miles more time together in the later chapters. Their shared dislike of 'Stringbean' makes for good comedy. 
> 
> Stringbean because, as Sapphire says in a later chapter, 'He's a skinny little f-k.' 
> 
> My favorite line here definitely has to be her telling Miles it's perfectly fine with her if he killed her ward. She's not your typical traveler.


	6. Chapter 5: Sergeant Sister

   "So explain to me again what the hell just happened…" Sapphire said, poking Kimblee in the side where his wound had been.  
        
      They had been on the road for almost an hour now and the blue healer was getting on his nerves. It had been less than twenty-four hours since they had met and even Raven had noticed how they had been at each other's throats.  
        
      "I would if you'd quit poking me! It's still tender you know!" he hissed.  
        
      Sapphire smirked and sat back on her haunches.  
        
      "Fine then Stringbean. Shoot."  
        
      "He was using alchemy. It's the science of deconstructing and reconstructing. You take one thing and make it into something else. But there are rules; the end result must be equal to whatever you started out with. It's called the law of Equivalent Exchange." Kimblee recited.  
        
      "And those pretty red rocks you went all Pica on?"  
        
      "Let me override Equivalent Exchange."  
        
      "Uh-huh…" Sapphire said, "That's the stupidest way to perform magic I've ever seen."  
        
      "It's not 'magic', it's science." Kimblee argued.  
        
      "It is too magic. You're just on the rune system." Sapphire countered, "The denizens of Karma used to be on the rune system too, needing signs and symbols to perform magic. But thousands of years ago we made a pact with the gods that allowed us to cast magic at will, the cost of which was that every creature born since then would only be able to use one type of magic, instead of all of them which was what the runes allowed us to do."  
        
      "Ah-ha!" Kimblee barked, "See that? That's equivalent exchange! Right there!"  
        
      Sapphire was about to give some sort of snarky reply when the military car pulled up to the gates of Fort Briggs.  
        
      "Here we are." Raven said, presenting his credentials to the guard, "this will be your home until your mission is complete."  
        
      "His mission," Sapphire corrected, "mine might take longer." Her ears drooped at the thought and she lit a cigarette.  
        
      "Do you smoke all the time or is it only when you realize how much you hate being here?" Kimblee asked.  
        
      "Yes." Was Sapphire's only reply.  
        
      They entered the fort and Sapphire shook herself off, leaving a ring of snow behind as she trotted up to meet her ward.  
        
      "So while you are stationed here," the man called Raven was saying, "Your cover will be that you are to located and eliminate Scar. If you do find him please do so."  
        
      "Yes. But the other matter we talked about…" Kimblee replied.  
        
      Raven was about to say something when Sapphire's ears perked up.  
        
      "Someone's coming." She said indifferently.  
        
      The klak klak klak of military boots preceded the arrival of a familiar face. It was Major Miles.  
        
      "Welcome Lieutenant General Raven. I'm sorry I kept you waiting. Major General Armstrong will be here shortly."  
        
      "No trouble," Raven replied, "It's my fault for coming here without notice."  
        
      It was at that moment that Miles noticed Sapphire and her ward.  
        
      "Oh yes, I've brought a guest." Raven said, "Major Miles would you be so kind as to give them a tour of the base?"  
        
      Kimblee smirked and removed his hat.  
        
      "Hello again Major. You mentioned that you were going to look after me?" he said villainously.  
        
      "Don't mind me," Sapphire deadpanned, "feel free to shoot him."  
        
      A few increasingly tense moments later and Miles, Sapphire and Kimblee were walking down another long corridor to what was to be their quarters. Sapphire and Miles were getting along, seeing as they did happen to share something in common, namely: their dislike of their third party member.  
        
      "Hrm, looks like the icicle detail is slacking off again." Miles observed, pointing up at the various pipes that lined the ceiling; of which several had large icy stalagmites hanging off of them.  
        
      "Pfeh, don't ya worry Stringbean," Sapphire said, noting the concerned look on her ward's face, "if one of those things hit ya I'd…well by law I'm required to keep you alive."  
        
      "And if you had your way?" Kimblee asked.  
        
      "I'd keep on walking without so much as a glance back."  
        
      Kimblee smirked, already used to her snide comments.  
        
      "And you Major?" he asked.  
        
      But Miles was already walking ahead of them. They dashed after him but skidded to a stop as they saw another group approaching them. Sapphire suddenly went ridged and her ears flipped forward. Ahead they could see a shape that was smaller than the rest stop as well.  
        
      "SAPPHIRE?" a high-pitched voice squawked.  
        
      "CALI?" Sapphire shouted.  
        
      The two ran towards each other and Kimblee was astonished to see another griffin. This one, however, was much smaller and colored like a calico cat. Around its neck was a silver pocket watch.  
        
      "Sapphie what are you doing here?" The little griffin squeaked as she nuzzled her.  
        
      "I'm with my ward. The psycho one with no fashion sense." Sapphire replied, pointing at Kimblee who frowned. "What are you doing here? Where's Roy?"  
        
      "He's back in the capital, Central they call it. I'm a temporary guardian to these two." The little one replied, pointing at a short boy with blonde hair and a metal construction of human shape. "These two are Edward and Alphonse Elric."  
        
      Sapphire looked up to see Kimblee eyeing the two with a look of great interest.  
        
      "So Sapphire, it seems that you aren't so alone in this world." He said.  
        
      "Don't act coy with me," Sapphire growled, "this is my sister Cali. She's been stationed in this world for nearly three years now. Her ward is one Colonel Roy Mustang. She's here now with these two because a ward can grant temporary guardianship to another person or persons in times of need. Her ward must have felt that she'd do more good overseeing the protection of these two than wherever he is right now."  
        
      Cali stepped forward and puffed her chest out proudly, displaying her silver pocket watch.  
        
      "I am Sergeant Cali Griffin, the Living Blade Alchemist. I am traveler to Colonel Mustang and temporary guardian of the Elric brothers."  
        
      "The Elric brothers? Then that means you must be the Fullmetal Alchemist." Kimblee said, mistakenly addressing Alphonse.  
        
      "Nice try numb-nuts but the real Fullmetal is shorty over there." Sapphire said, pointing to a fuming Edward.  
        
      "Nice to meet you then, Mr. Fullmetal Alchemist."  
        
      "Hey." Was all Edward said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cali is from a story I scrapped called The Living Blade Alchemist. It was essentially the manga from Roy's point of view but since Roy has a lot of page/screen time there wasn't much room for creativity. Plus, he's waaayyy too much like my own character Shadow so I wasn't learning anything from working with him, sweet as he is. 
> 
> There WILL be a sequel to Sapphire's Redemption that will feature Roy and Cali as co-stars.


	7. Chapter 6: Pond Ripples

**Chapter 6: Pond Ripples**

_“Look Kim!_ _A shooting star!”_

_“It’s not a star; it’s a piece of meteor entering the atmosphere.”_

_“But it’s got such a pretty glow.”_

_“That’s because it’s burning up upon entry. It’ll be nothing but dust by the time it hits the ground.”_

_“You alchemists take the fun out of everything.”_               

Sometime in the middle of the night, Kimblee woke to a dull throbbing in his lower abdomen. He rolled over in his bed, one hand resting on his stomach, rubbing it in an attempt to alleviate the pain that had suddenly flared up.

 _“Damn it. I haven’t had indigestion since the war…must be too much rich food.”_ He thought.

                He glanced over at Sapphire; she was still asleep, a blue lump curled up on a nest of pillows and blankets. Satisfied that he hadn’t woken her, Kimblee rolled back onto his side and went back to sleep.

                The next morning, Sapphire was the first one awake. The griffin scratched her head, and then looked next to her. Kimblee had his face dug into his pillow and was even snoring slightly; she never knew ex-cons could sleep so heavily. A very bitter look came to her face. The ex-healer cursed under her breath, then sauntered over and hit Kimblee hard in the stomach. He groaned, curled into a large ball, and dropped onto the floor where he yelled loudly and sat up.

“DAMMIT WHAT?”

“Time to get up stringbean.” Sapphire smirked before sauntering into the bathroom.

The griffin spent all of five minutes preening herself for the day. Her ward, however, took a little bit longer.

Ever since getting out of prison, Kimblee had been practically addicted to the feeling of a hot shower. He never thought years of imprisonment would affect him like it did. He was currently running the shower on full blast, savoring the nearly scalding water as he stroked it into his long, ebony locks.

Suddenly the water in the shower changed from hot and relaxing to freezing.

“Fuck!” Kimblee growled, and jumped from the shower.

He found himself face to face with Sapphire, her paw still perched on the toilet’s handle.

“You were in there too long,” she said.

Kimblee’s tattoos itched with the desire to blow this little annoyance out of his life.

“You should get dressed. You’re not exactly someone I want to look at naked.” Sapphire commented, though her calculating eyes seemed intent on taking in as much of the lean alchemist she could. Kimblee glared, but said nothing as Sapphire turned and left. “And hurry the freak up, if all the bacon’s gone by the time we get down there I’ll bite your nuts off!”

Sapphire, Kimblee concluded, definetly wasn’t a morning person.

***

                On the way to the mess hall, accompanied by a very grumpy Major Miles, Sapphire couldn’t help but notice that Kimblee kept staring at her tail.

                “What?!” She snapped, in a way that suggested she was about to bite.

                “Your tail,” Kimblee said, “you don’t have that little tuft your sister does.”

                Sapphire looked at her pale blue tail, one feathered eyebrow raised.

                “In Karma there are two types of griffins, well, three if you think Canyon Griffins are a separate species. But the two accepted types are Mountain and Cave. My father was a Mountain Griffin and my mother was a Cave Griffin. Mountain Griffins are bigger in size and don’t have the tuft of fur on the end of their tails. Cali, who takes after our mother, is more like a Cave Griffin. She’s smaller and has the tuft of fur.”

                In the mess hall, Sapphire watched over her bacon and egg sandwich as Kimblee plunked down a tray heaped with food.

                “Are you sure you should be eating all that?” she grumbled.

                “I haven’t eaten in this good in years.” He smirked. “Why do you care anyway?”

                Sapphire swallowed a mouthful of sandwich with a gulp and leaned in close, gesturing for him to do the same.

                “Because you were the one up in the middle of the night with a bellyache.” She whispered.

                “What? How do you know that? You were asleep!” Kimblee hissed.

                “I was pretending. I woke up when you did. That’s another traveler quirk, knowing when your ward’s in pain.”

                Kimblee frowned, glancing sidelong at a staring Miles.

                “So then what do you want me to do?” he whispered to the blue griffin.

                “Eat some dry toast.” Sapphire grinned evilly before sitting back down and biting off another chunk of breakfast sandwich.

                Kimblee sat back and stared at her.

                “Toast isn’t food, it’s punishment.” He stated.

                Sapphire looked like she was about to say something equally clever when she spotting something small and calico moving amongst the crowd.

                “Don’t move Stringbean. I’ll be right back.” She said.

                Cali was stopped in her tracks by something big and blue. She looked up at her sister inquisitively.

                “Where’s your ward?” she asked, disdain coloring her voice.

                “Stringbean is over there. It’s not like I chose to be with him you know.” The older, larger griffin replied.

                Cali looked in the direction Sapphire had indicated.

                “…How is the mad bomber?” she asked.

                “He has a belly ache. No surprise after what he went through…How’s your ward?”

                Cali’s ears drooped.

                “He’s had nightmares all this week. Even if I’m away from him I can tell.”

                Sapphire nodded.

                “Traveler’s quirk.” She said, “I guess I’d better get back to Stringbean, before he blows Miles up. Take care of yourself.”

                “I could say the same to you.” Cali said.

                “What’s that supposed to mean?” Sapphire growled.

                “Just…” Cali sighed, “Just don’t let this turn into another Phenix situation.”

                Sapphire frowned.

                “It’s good to see you too.” she huffed before turning away.

                By the time she got back to the table she found that Kimblee had eaten his breakfast and was starting to pick at hers. She bit him.

***

                “Ffff…I hate the cold.” Kimblee grumbled as they slid into the backseat of the car that was to take them to the train station.

                “That’s because you’re barely flesh and bones. There’s nothing to ya!” Sapphire said, poking him harshly in the ribs.

                “Ow! Watch it! You have sharp claws!” Kimblee yelped.

                Up in front, Miles snickered. The ride to the station was fairly uneventful. When they got there, Sapphire hopped out of the car after Kimblee and followed in his footsteps. It was no small wonder why travelers were often called ‘Shadow Angels’, they always followed their wards so closely. Actually, she had heard Cali mention once that she had earned the moniker ‘Flame’s Ember’.

                As she followed Kimblee through glass doors of the train station she saw a young girl, flanked by two of the officers from Briggs. She was pretty, Sapphire thought, and much too young to be mixed up whatever these humans were up to. As she studied the girl, she noticed the girl was studying her, but in a curious way that suggested Sapphire was not the first griffin she had seen. She opened her beak and was about to ask when her ward spoke up.

                “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said, removing his hat and acting like he was a perfect gentleman. Sapphire had to struggle not to bite him again when he picked up her suitcase. “Is this your luggage? Allow me.” He said with that ‘innocent’ smile.

                Sapphire grumbled to herself all the way back to the car and sat squished against the window, staring at the snowflakes.

                “Ms. Rockbell,” Kimblee was saying, “you’re from Resembool, are you not?”

                “Oh, how did you know?” the girl asked.

                “The president told me.” Kimblee replied. “Forgive me but, were your parents the doctors who lost their lives in Ishbal?”

                Sapphire's ears perked up, interested to find out more about the history of the world she would be living in for Gods knew how long.

                “Yes…” the girl said, obviously saddened by the idea.

                Sapphire was about to punch Kimblee in the arm when he continued.

                “I see. It was my squad that recovered your parents’ remains from the site.”

                “What?” The girl exclaimed.

                Sapphire cocked a feathery eyebrow at her ward, once again intrigued.

                “We had arrived a moment too late. We went to help them but by the time we got there, they had already been killed by the Ishbalan rebels.”

                “I see…” Ms. Rockbell said.

                “They stayed true to their duty as doctors, following their conscience to the end. I wish I could have met them.” Kimblee added. “There was a photo. When we searched their clinic, we found a picture of them with an adorable little girl. I assume that the child in the photo was you, their daughter. It is an honor to make your acquaintance Ms. Rockbell.”

                Sapphire was actually about to punch him when Ms. Rockbell said to her:

                “You…you’re a griffin aren’t you?”

                Sapphire's ears swiveled forward.

                “Yeah, the name’s Sapphire. How’d you know I’m a griffin and not a…what’d you call it Stringbean?”

                “Chimera.” Kimblee sighed, “I’m terribly sorry about her, she’s attached herself to me and-”

                “Oh no! I know what she is; she’s a Traveler!” Ms. Rockbell said.

                They both looked at her, stunned.

                “You…” Sapphire said, “You know a Cali Griffin?”

                “Yes, I met her a few months ago! She’s Colonel Mustang’s guardian.”

                Sapphire smiled. “Yeah, Cali’s my sister.” She said.

                “Oh wow! I knew Cali had siblings but I never expected to meet them!” She held out her hand, “You can call me Winry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rated T for that one f-bomb he drops. 
> 
> Gods I loved that shower scene. I love all my shower scenes though but this one made me lol. A lot. 
> 
> I also love her wake-up call. Nothing like getting punched in the stomach first thing in the morning.


	8. Chapter 7: Making Waves

**Chapter 7: Making Waves**

                Sapphire took the cup of coffee she was offered without hesitation and took a sip.

                “That’ll be two-hundred senz.” the engineer smirked.

                “How about I let you keep your fingers.” the blue griffin growled.

                The engineer sweatdropped and hastily backed away.

“Ed why did they lock you and Al up?” Winry asked as she worked in the young alchemist’s arm, “Did you guys do something wrong?”

                “Uhh…well, it’s complicated.” Ed replied.

                “It was a simple misunderstanding,” Kimblee said as he enjoyed his own cup of coffee, “Please rest assured Ms. Winry, the Fullmetal Alchemist will soon be released. I’ll take care of the paperwork later.”

                “Really? Oh thank you Mr. Kimblee.” Winry said.

                “Oh not at all.” he replied with a smile.

                “If you don’t quit the cupcake routine yer gonna be sans a ponytail.” Sapphire grumbled.

                 Ed wasn’t having any of it either.

                “Hey,” he said, tugging on Winry’s hair, “You’d better not trust Kimblee too much.”

                “Huh? Why? He seems like a perfect gentleman. Plus he’s got a traveler like Mr. Mustang so he must be a good person.” She said.

                “Actually it doesn’t really work-mrmph!” Cali squeaked as Sapphire clamped a paw over her beak.

                “Stuff it.” The older, larger griffin growled. “The last thing I need is to be marked as a pariah.”

                Cali sighed and trotted over to where Ed was getting mauled by a large man with claw-like automail. Sapphire glanced at her ward.

                “How’s your stomach?” she whispered.

                “None of your goddamn business.” he growled under his breath.

                Sapphire twitched her tail and held back the urge to make good on her previous threat and rip his ponytail off. Instead she huffed and turned back to her sister’s little group of friends. The girl, Winry, was intently studying the composition of the cold weather automail and even taking notes on the components used.

                “She certainly is serious about her work; just like her parents.” Kimblee said, “My type of girl.”

                That did it. Sapphire chomped down on his leg and wouldn’t let go, even as he yelped and tried to shake her off.

                “OW!!! I didn’t mean it like that!!! You seriously think I’m some kind of pervert?!”

                Sapphire's response was to dig her claws in.

***

                Still limping slightly, Kimblee sat down at the table in the private room they had procured to talk to Edward. Sapphire sat at his side like some feathered, blue guard dog; her golden eyes boring into the wall facing her. She was bored off her tail.

                “What do you mean ‘job’?” Edward asked.

                “I’m merely asking you to fulfill your duties as a State Alchemist.” Kimblee said with one of those fake smiles of his.

                “I refuse.” Edward said, pushing his chair back. “But I guess you won’t be taking ‘no’ for an answer will you?”

                “That’s true.” Kimblee replied. “the president has given you three orders, all of which are to be carried out under my command. Number one: you are to aid us in the search for Scar. He is thought to have escaped here to the North. You need only to find him, eliminating him is my job. Number two: find Dr. Marcoh. He is believed to be traveling with Scar. Again, just find him, I’ll take care of the rest. And number three: Here at Briggs, you will carve a crest of blood.”

                If Sapphire was at all fazed by her ward’s words, she didn’t show it. In fact, she yawned a little bit.

                “Carve a crest of blood here at Briggs?” Edward growled, clearly sickened by the thought. 

                “Correct,” Kimblee replied, “you will join me in this task.”

                “I don’t understand, what do you mean?” Edward said, his tone low and increasingly dangerous.

                “Just as in Ishbal, we will kill the people of this land and create something magnificent out of their blood and sorrow.”

                “I WILL NEVER AGREE TO THAT!” Edward shouted, slamming his hands down on the table.

                Quick as lightning, Sapphire had leapt onto the table between Edward and Kimblee; she growled and her tail twitched threateningly. Something banged on the door to the room.

                “Back off Sapphire!” Cali screeched. “He’s under my protection!”

                “He’s not really your ward! The terms only apply to your true ward, not temporary guardianship!” Sapphire called back. “There’s nothing holding me back from an attack except the fact that I don’t give a flip about Stringbean here!” she looked back at Kimblee, “you’re insane, and this kid has every right to hurt you. But I’m up here for the same reason I woke up last night. It’s a quirk, I’m compelled to take bullets for you. We just can’t have the Calamity God taking your soul.”

                Kimblee seemed to consider this bit of information and somehow seemed pleased by it.

                “You can stand down, Fullmetal won’t kill me. Not here at least.”

                Sapphire twitched her tail once more and hopped off the table, resuming her place at Kimblee’s side as if nothing had happened.

***

“Bread and beef broth? You were sent here to kill me.” Kimblee muttered as he soaked said bread in said broth.

“Doctors orders. Or we could have a repeat of last night or worse.” Sapphire said as she swallowed a chunk of beef.

“Oh honestly, that was an isolated incident.” Kimblee growled, tearing off a portion of the beefy bread.

                “Well aren’t you two quite the couple…” Miles said with all the dry sarcasm he could muster.

“Fuck you, Ishbalan.” Kimblee growled, ignoring the serious breach of protocol.

 “Aw you really think so?” Sapphire smirked with equal sarcasm.

While Miles struggled not to put a couple of .45’s in the alchemist’s skull, Kimblee nibbled at his own food without looking, a half-disgusted and half-disinterested expression on his face, while Sapphire slurped down the stew, smiling like everything was perfectly fine and dandy and she was happy to be here. He was lucky though that she and Miles’ shared hatred of him kept them occupied. The last thing he needed was for Sapphire to notice how hard it was for him to choke down even a half a piece of bread, let alone two whole pieces, and he knew that unless her little ‘spirit alarm’, as he had taken to calling it, did he would. Flavor had never really mattered to Kimblee as long as the flavor wasn’t too strong, so that wasn’t the thing that was bothering him, and the texture of the bread was fine – crisp but completely chewable, so if Sapphire asked he wouldn’t have an excuse for his pathetic appetite. Whatever made eating it difficult was wrong with him and he would not admit that to his comrades. Not now or ever. Not unless it started to effect his job, which it wouldn’t. An upset stomach had never kept him out of the field and it wasn’t going to start now.       

***

                They were supposed to be heading out to an old mining town early the next day to search for Scar and another fugitive whose name Sapphire didn’t care enough to remember. So that night they went to bed early. Everything was fine until Sapphire's inner alarm went off. She opened one yellow eye and moved it in her ward’s direction. He was sleeping fitfully, tossing and turning a bit. She watched him for a few moments, debating whether or not to punch him awake.

But he beat her to the punch.

With a jerk Kimblee sat up, gasping in great heaving breaths, shaking all over. The griffin watched calculatingly as the dark haired man placed his right hand to his chest and closed his eyes, swallowing with difficulty, attempting to make himself calm. Sapphire wanted to say something, to ask what it was that bothered him, but she couldn’t find the words for it. Just when she thought he was about to lie down and go back to sleep as if nothing had happened, Kimblee became completely rigid, his right hand going to his mouth while his left tore the covers from his legs, frantic. Sapphire couldn’t stop herself from reaching out as Kimblee fumbled out of bed and shot for the bathroom like a madman, bare feet thunderous on the far less than sound proof floor.

She made out the crash of the bathroom door being thrown open, feet on tile, and then a growling retch that could only be the predecessor to vomiting. With a heavy sigh she slid off the bed and padded into the bathroom.

Kimblee did not know what was wrong with him. He crouched in front of the toilet and proceeded to violently empty his stomach, trembling uncontrollably and hating every moment of it. He wasn’t sick often, and he threw up even less, so when the dry heaves came he found himself unable to stop from groaning. A warm hand pressed on his shoulder and another pulled the loose strands of his hair away from his face. With as shaking hand he reached out and flushed the toilet, looking at its contents wasn’t helping his stomach settle.

A hand on his shoulder ran up and down his spine soothingly, and he realized that he must have woken Sapphire with his retching. He let himself accept the touch, because it didn’t matter anyway, it was humiliating enough to throw up in front of her; being exhausted wasn’t going to hurt his reputation with her, if he had anything of it left to hurt. He leaned his forehead on the cool porcelain, closing his eyes against the oncoming migraine. For a time he continued to suffer the occasional cramping of his stomach muscles as his innards attempted to settle; and each time a small moan escaped him. The hand, paw rather, never left his back the entire time.

He had the disgusting sensation that his face was beginning to stick to the porcelain under his forehead. Sapphire let his hair go and pulled one of the small hand towels from the rack before moving to run it under the warm water from the sink, working as if it was completely normal for the alchemist to be so violently ill.

Kimblee stayed where he was, breathing slowly, and watched the griffin wring the water from the soft white cloth before offering it to him.

Sapphire started running the cold water then, and filled the tiny cup next to the faucet with a steady paw.

“Did you have a nightmare?” She asked matter-of-factly

_Red hair. Green eyes._

Kimblee accepted the cup of water with a sigh. When he brought the liquid to his lips he found it pleasantly cool, and extremely refreshing in comparison to the bile he had tasted only moments before.

_“I’m leaving Kim. It’s too dangerous here.”_

 “No.” he rasped.

It wasn’t a complete lie, what he had seen in his mind’s eye was not a nightmare to him. His hands were shaking so he lowered them to the ground, setting the water on the cold tiles.

 “It didn’t…Do that to me. I don’t even know where that came from.”

“Stressed out?”

“No.”

“Feel sick?”

“Not anymore. I feel fine, I’m just tired.”

Sapphire stared at him, that same stare she used when she was trying to figure him out. But he could see something else behind that stare, something…sad. Almost as if she too were plagued by dream-memories.

“If you can stand, you should get back in bed then.”

Kimblee nodded and hoisted himself to his feet. He took one last drink of water and spat it out, trying to rinse the aftertaste from his mouth. He was a little unsteady, but with Sapphire guiding him he at last made it back to the bed, falling asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you didn't like that you won't like this story. Him being sick like this is 90% of the plot. What can I say except that hurt/comfort is like porn to me. I'm writing my own porn. 
> 
> Sapphire bites. Her personality is personified by this children's book called Bootsy Barker Bites. Sapphire the griffin bites. A lot.


	9. Chapter 8: Tsunami

**Chapter 8: Tsunami**

Sapphire watched her ward stir some cream into his oatmeal, quite a change from yesterday’s breakfast. Kimblee noticed her eyeing him and whispered:

                “I’m hoping the bases in the cream will settle the acids in my stomach. Since last night my Ph balance has been out of whack.”

                “You’re way too logical for your own good.” Sapphire grumbled.

                 “You’re not the first girl to say that to me.” Kimblee smirked.

                Sapphire let out a choked splutter by the sound of it. Kimblee let a smirk show on his face as he continued to eat. His stomach was protesting, as he hadn’t eaten properly in quite a while, but he forced it all down. If he got sick later, then so be it. He was too tired to care by this point. He swallowed what spoonfuls he could and then stood, beckoning Sapphire to follow.

                “Come on, we’re wasting daylight.” He said.

                Sapphire swallowed her bacon and trotted after him.

                “Are you sure you should be going anywhere? I mean, besides a hospital?” she grumbled.

                “I’m fine. I’m not sick.” Her ward replied.

                “Then what the hell was last night?” she asked.

Kimblee said nothing as the front gate of the fort swung wide and they stepped out into the open. Built for cold weather, she didn’t even twitch when the snow and sub-zero temperatures assaulted them when they left the compound. Kimblee, on the other hand, huddled into his coat and cursed. This time, Sapphire didn’t make a crack about his weight. Perhaps her thoughts were still with what had gone down last night.

                They approached a group of vehicles and made their way over to Major Miles.

                “Hey Miles.” Sapphire said, lighting a cigarette.

                Miles nodded in greeting and then turned to Kimblee.

                “So we’ll start by heading east to Buzcol. It’s the last place Scar was seen so it’s only logical we’d begin the search there.” He said.

                “Very well,” Kimblee replied, “you may handle the details but don’t forget that I am in command.”

                Sapphire snickered as she watched Miles’ aura change to that same angry red it had been back in the hospital.

                “Hey! Make room for me!” someone shouted.

                Sapphire watched as the girl from yesterday, Winry, jumped into the car occupied by Cali and the Elric brothers; Cali extricated herself from where she was sandwiched against the suit of armor, Alphonse or something, and hopped into the front where she began to preen herself.

                “I do not need this.” Kimblee grumbled as he and Sapphire approached the car. “Please wait at the fort Ms. Rockbell, we’re not sightseeing here.” He said.

                “I know that!” Winry said, “You realized that I just outfitted Ed with new automail right? I’ve never made a cold weather model before. It might malfunction. He needs me with him in case I need to make repairs. Our shop stakes its reputation on our comprehensive service! If something were to happen to Ed’s automail it would tarnish the Rockbell family name! My family’s been doing this for four generations!”

                “Alright, alright,” Kimblee sighed, “You can come. Darius, ride in Ms. Rockbell’s car.” He said.

                Sapphire watched with a bemused expression as Cali scrambled out of the front seat and into the suit of armor who, judging by his reaction, did not like that one bit. Still chuckling, she followed Kimblee to their own car and they started off for Buzcol.

Kimblee shifted uncomfortably in his seat once the car got onto the road. He had been trying the entire time since they had left the dining hall to not let on just how awful he was feeling. The driver turned the car with a sharp jerk and he nearly lost it then. This was going to be far worse than the bumps. He became faintly aware that Sapphire was talking to him, and he was doing him best to listen. The only problem was he was more focused on keeping his stomach down. He cursed mentally, he never got carsick.

"Hey Stringbean, you listening?" Sapphire’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" he said, wincing as he felt his stomach twist.

They turned the corner and Kimblee's stomach lurched. He braced himself against the door, fighting to find something stable he could ground his senses on.

"Sapphire." He said quietly, some part of him still not wanting to admit that he was sick, but the griffin didn’t hear him. "Sapphire." Kimblee repeated as they turned another sharp corner, causing him to cover his mouth as his stomach lurched again, doing angry flips and threatening to spill its contents right there and then.

Kimblee closed his eyes, trying to get rid of the feeling, but it only proceeded to make him concentrate even more on the increasingly windy motion of the car as it trundled down the mountain roads. Another sharp turn and he grabbed Sapphire’s feathers. The griffin looked at him at last and snapped to attention.

"Pull over the damn car!" she shouted over Kimblee’s gagging.

This got the driver’s attention. He looked over to see Kimblee leaning against the back of the seat, the back of one hand was pressed against his mouth, the other was holding his stomach so hard his knuckles were white. Sapphire looked at her ward: his breath was shallow and he was so pale it almost terrified the veteran healer. Kimblee was looking at her with a mixture of pain, frustration, and . . . fear? She had never expected to see her stubborn ward scared.

The driver pulled over and Kimblee swung the car door open, just barely making it to the curb before he doubled over and started retching violently. Sapphire quickly jumped out of the car, immediately at her sick ward’s side. She saw his back muscles tense before he gagged hard and vomited onto the curb.

"Kimblee." said Sapphire as she moved closer.

Kimblee retched again and Sapphire held his hair out of the way for him with one paw, the other pressed to his back to steady him. Kimblee made a terrible sound, somewhere between a cough and a gag, and he grabbed hold of Sapphire's feathers as another wave of sickness was purged from his body.

Sapphire could see the pain clearly in her ward’s face and she felt it in the tight grip he had on her feathers. Kimblee's breath was harsh, a few whimpers escaping through clenched teeth, which didn't go unnoticed by Sapphire.

"Easy," she said, "just relax. Take a deep breath."

Kimblee's breath hitched as he tried to breathe in, which only proceeded to him bending over even further and vomiting again. Sapphire could tell he was trying hard not to get sick, even though he already had a few times, but she knew that holding it back would only cause him more pain.

"Kimblee," Sapphire tried again, "come on, try and relax. It's okay. Nobody’s watching. Let it come. It'll be over soon."

This seemed to make Kimblee relax a little bit. His grip on Sapphire’s feathers loosened, but it didn't release, he was finding some small comfort in the contact of his guardian. He took a shaky breath before he heaved again onto the curb. Sapphire saw him beginning to lean more to the side, so she shifted slightly so Kimblee was leaning slightly on her and wouldn't fall over. She thanked the Gods she was mostly mountain griffin.

Kimblee was sick for a few more minutes before he finally seemed to calm down.

When he stopped for a minute, Sapphire took the opportunity to ask: "Are you finished?"

Kimblee waited a moment, slightly afraid to open his mouth. “I think so."

"Okay, let's get you back in the car." said Sapphire and adjusted herself so she could help him back to the car.

Kimblee groaned in response.

“Don’t want to go huh?” Sapphire chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood surrounding them.

“Not particularly.” Kimblee replied.

“Too bad. You’ll freeze that cute butt of yours. In the car now.”

                Kimblee allowed himself a small smirk and let Sapphire help him back in the car. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuuuuuu-that was short. So like, the last three chapters have sort of had a correlation in their titles:
> 
> Pond Ripples
> 
> Making Waves
> 
> Tsunami
> 
> So it's the progression of him getting sick. And like I said last time, if you're not as into hurt/comfort as I am, you can leave the story now. Can't say I didn't warn ya.
> 
> Sapphire finally shows her caring side. And there's a good reason why him being sick like this finally brought it out of her. Oh those gods are so clever. They knew this would happen and chose her specially for the job.


	10. Chapter 9: Ice Queen Rising

**Chapter 9: Ice Queen Rising**

                The mining town of Buzcol was sprawling and, utterly abandoned. Sapphire was a little shocked at the sight considering she came from an island world where land was a precious resource and used to its full potential.

                She watched as her ward exited the car, she could tell he was trying his hardest not to let on how sick he had been on the ride over. The fact that they had to stop delayed their arrival to the town so when they finally pulled up, they were greeted with unpleasant news.

                “Ms. Rockbell is gone? What the hell happened you idiots?” Kimblee growled; this was really the last thing he need right now.

                “I’m terribly sorry sir,” one of the soldiers apologized, “apparently she disappeared while we were unloading the equipment.”

                “Great, one more person to search for,” Miles huffed, “bring over two more men from Charlie squad.”

                “Major Miles.” Kimblee warned.

                “I know, I know,” Miles said, “We’ll contact you if we spot Scar.”

                Sapphire shot a wary look at her ward as they started off in a different direction.

                “You need to be in a hospital or at the very least an infirmary!” she hissed about twenty minutes into traversing the empty buildings and snow mounds.

                “I’m not going anywhere. Whatever was in my system has to be gone by now.” Kimblee hissed back.

                “This is the second time this has happened to you, and you’re not running a fever or coughing. This isn’t some stomach bug Stringbean.” Sapphire replied.

                Kimblee was probably about to answer back with something cocky when  a harsh wind whipped through the street they were on; even Sapphire hunched against the snow blowing into them.

                “Mr. Kimblee this isn’t good,” one of the soldiers said, “the weather’s starting to turn. It’s going to get pretty bad out here soon sir.”

                “Listen to the guy Stringbean,” Sapphire warned, “I live in a place just like this, there’s a blizzard on the horizon and believe you me you don’t want to be outdoors when it hits.”

                “Fine then, we-” Kimblee was cut off as the wall of the building they were standing next to exploded.

                “What the-what now?!” Sapphire snarled, she was as fed up with all this as her ward.

                “That’s Major Miles’ location!” one of the soldiers shouted.

                Sapphire watched as a familiar blur of red was tossed through the hole in the concrete wall. It was that short kid, Edward, Cali was looking after.

                “Fullmetal?” Kimblee said, as curious as his guardian.

                “Kimblee you bastard!” Edward yelled, “Why didn’t you leave Winry at headquarters where you could keep an eye on her?!” he pointed to the top of the building.

                Kimblee looked up and his gaze immediately hardened, it was Scar, and he had Winry. Sapphire, although she didn’t recognize Scar, knew something was off.

                “That him then?” She asked.

                Her ward didn’t reply, only smirked and she took that as a yes, half unfurling her wings in case she needed to leap into action. The sooner they dealt with this guy the sooner she could get her ward the medical treatment he needed.

                “Long time no see Kimblee.” Scar said.

                Sapphire met the strange man’s gaze and something clicked, she was not the first griffin he had met. Still, she said nothing.

                “It seems the tables have turned since we last met.” Scar continued.

                “How dare you.” Kimblee growled.

                “Kimblee you bastard!” Edward snapped again, grabbing him by his coat, “I thought you had someone to keep an eye on Winry at headquarters! Why is Winry even here?! We finally had Scar cornered but we had to let him go because he took Winry hostage!”

                “Kimblee!”

Sapphire's head snapped up and she squinted into the driving blizzard, it was Miles.

“Can’t you keep an eye on one little girl?! It was your job to keep Ms. Rockbell in protective custody!”

“Let me go.” Kimblee said, his voice dangerously low.

Edward barely had time to react before Kimblee held out his hands. Sapphire watched as his aura shifted to a goldenrod, with the highest concentration of energy being around the tattoos on his palms. Edward grabbed him by the wrists to stop him and Sapphire reacted. She leapt on the smaller alchemist, tackling him to the permafrost with a primal snarl. Then, from out of nowhere, something small but hard hit her in the side, knocking her off of Edward.

“You will not harm him.” Cali growled, her tail lashing the air.

“You think you can stop me?” Sapphire snapped, “he’s not really your ward Cali. I can chew him up however you want and the rules won’t apply!”

Cali bit her on the forearm but the larger, older griffin shook her off and straight into a nearby wall.

“He’s warped your mind!” She squawked.

                “Oh so that’s what this is about!” Sapphire chuckled, “You can’t stand that your big sister’s working for the opposition! Who’s to say you’re on the right side eh? Look at Shadow! Karma’s savior was once a Claw!”[1]

                “His life’s work was and still is his redemption! Don’t you dare slander his name!” Cali growled.

                She leapt into the sky and formed a fireball in her paws. Sapphire followed suit and took off in a single leap. She tried to tackle her sister but the little griffin was too quick and dodged the attack. Sapphire turned on a dime and hurled a ball of water into the air, turning it into icicles and raining them down on Cali. Cali swooped out of the way just in time and landed on a nearby roof, trying to form her swords that made her codename ‘The Living Blade Alchemist’.

                “Oh no you don’t!” Sapphire shouted.

                She went into a dive and landed hard on the roof, freezing the snow over so that her sister couldn’t get to the iron beneath.

                “You’re insane!” Cali squawked, “are you really trying to kill me?”

                “Of course not!” Sapphire shouted in reply, “I’m trying to neutralize you so I can get back to my ward!”

                “You can’t possibly care about him!” Cali scoffed.

                “And why not?!”

                “He’s evil! Just look at him!”

                Sapphire snorted.

                “Evil or not, he’s my ward.” She said.

                “You can reject him,” Cali said, almost hesitantly, “it’s hard but, you can do it and come with me to Central.”

                “Who says I want to be a loyalist pansy like you?” Sapphire snarled.

                “You’d really reject the light? You’d throw away your morals just like that?”

                “Pfft,” Sapphire huffed, “What have I got to go back to? A nowhere town in the middle of Obenjarl? I lost everything when I lost Phenix. I could care less where I end up at this point.”

                “You can’t possibly care about that man!” Cali said, shooting a quick glance down at the ground.

                Sapphire was silent for a moment. Then she bowed her head, her eyes glaring dangerously at her sister.

                “That’s where you’re wrong Cali, I do care about him. He’s my ward and, despite everything he’s done and might do, I care about him.”

                “You’ve gone mad. If you keep this up we’re going to be on the opposite sides of the battlefield! Come with me and I’ll make sure you’re forgiven of any association with him.”

                “So we end up fighting each other in the end. At least I’ll die fighting for something I believe in.”

                She took to the air and Cali followed, creating a shield of fire around herself and trying to barrel into her sister to stop her.

                “You can’t stop me!” Sapphire screeched, forming a shield of water around herself and extinguishing Cali as she rammed into her.

                They fell to the earth and it was only at the last second that they pulled apart. Sapphire watched from the ground as her sister winged away, probably back to her true ward. She watched until she disappeared and then when to go find her ward. She could feel where he was in her soul, the way she could tell who he was on that first day they met. On the way, she noticed that the snow had stopped falling and that the sun had come out, as much as it did in such a cold climate.

                She followed her senses to one of the abandoned mine tunnels and almost stopped in her tracks. There was something evil down there. But gradually she felt the presence recede, immediately replaced by the sound of her ward gagging. She sighed and her ears drooped slightly. She trekked into the tunnel and found Kimblee leaning against one of the rock walls, gripping his stomach as he coughed. Idly, she noticed that he wasn’t being as forcefully sick as before, it was as if his body was simply trying to reject any matter in his stomach for the mere fact that it was matter, not because he was nauseous.

                “Hey Stringbean.” Sapphire said kindly.

                Kimblee couldn’t even speak as he tried to control his coughing. Sapphire stiffened, he wasn’t coughing because he had just been sick, although that had obviously irritated his throat. When he finally calmed down, wiping his mouth shakily, she broached a question.

                “Stringbean, don’t explode me okay? I need to listen to your lungs.”

                She stood up on her hind legs and pressed her ear to his back, listening to his breathing as it rattled. She frowned.

                “Crap.” she muttered.

                “It’s bad then?” Kimblee croaked, the stomach acid had done a number on his throat.

                “I think you’re developing pneumonia. You probably aspirated some food or something when you were being sick. We need to get you to a doctor.”

                Kimblee shook his head.

                “Not yet,” he rasped, “we have one more job to do.”

 

               

  


* * *

[1] That’s from The House of Claw. Which is mine. All mine. Although these stories take place half a generation after the book. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The House of Claw is mine. All mine. Although actually the Traveler's Chronicles all take place half a generation to a full generation after the series. 
> 
> So nearly all of this chapter is based on the song Defying Gravity from Wicked. Cali and Sapphire end up on opposite sides of the board and it's tougher for Cali than it is Sapphire. Don't worry, you'll find out who the mysterious Phenix is shortly. We're almost to the end of arc one! Trisha appears in arc two so anyone who's seen the art for this knows what she looks like already. 
> 
> Also, that pneumonia thing is true. I learned it on Dr. G.


	11. Chapter 10: Into the North

Kimblee stood by rocky outcroppings that snaked from the sides of the mountain pass, retching so hard he thought he’d lose the lining of his stomach. Then he was being supported by something warm and furry. Sapphire never flinched; just stood there without speaking and held him until the sickness had passed. It was just dry heaves now, but every contraction of his already empty stomach was causing him to lose vital fluids and Sapphire knew that even in the cold one could succumb to dehydration.

“Are you alright?” she asked. It wasn’t so much a question of his overall health, but rather a way of assessing how much pain he was in.

Kimblee swallowed hard and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine. You should go back to the others… tell them I’ll be coming soon.”

Sapphire still looked dubious. “Are you sure you’re alright?” she squinted at his over-bright aura. “I think you’re starting to run a fever…”

“I’m fine.”

Sapphire didn’t look convinced, but she turned and moved back up to the rest. But as she was doing so she saw movement from amongst the rocks.

                “Oi!” She squawked.

                A Drachman soldier emerged from where he was attempting to hide. He didn’t look much older than her ward.

                “Who the hell are you?” Sapphire grumbled.

                “Dimitri. Dimitri Yurkov. I am a Captain of the twelfth division.” He stated.

                Sapphire glanced behind her for a moment as Kimblee stalked past them before sitting down and lighting a cigarette.

                “I’m Sapphire,” she said, “So I guess you saw us back there.” She sighed.

                “Yes.” Dimitri said, sitting next to her, “he is very sick, yes?”

                “Yeah.” Sapphire said. “He’s dying.”

                “Then why is he not in hospital?” Dimitri asked.

                “He wants to get this done first…but even then I have no idea if he’ll listen to me. We’re not exactly…welcome back in…crap what is that place called?” she asked, gesturing vaguely towards Fort Briggs and the land beyond it.

                “Amestris.” Dimitri answered, “so he is going to die?”

                Sapphire sighed deeply, she looked genuinely sad for a moment.

                “Yeah. Unless you can find a way to get him help.”

                Dimitri looked around for a moment before dropping his voice so that only they could hear.

                “Look blue chimera…” he said, ignoring Sapphire's indignant glare, “I stay in town across Drachman border, I hear things about nice lady doctor. She works alone, no government. Maybe when this is over, we take your friend to her?”

                Sapphire's ears perked up.

                “Really? A doctor on the other side of the mountain pass?”

                Dimitri nodded. Then, suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around him.

                “Thank-you Dimitri.” Sapphire said, “and if you tell Kimblee I hugged you I’ll rip your throat out.”

                The fight between the Drachman’s and the soldiers at Fort Briggs was short and bloody. Sapphire had taken to the air more than once to make sure that Dimitri wasn’t caught in the shelling and gunfire. And of course when it was over, there was her ward enjoying the bloodshed.

                “Well done, the very definition of an instant victory.” He said with that smirk of his.

                Sapphire sat next to him, watching his aura dance in waves of yellow. At least he was feeling well enough to be his usual crazy self.

                “I thought we could hold out for a bit longer but apparently I gave Drachma too much credit.”

                Then, the Supreme Commander of the Drachman army came storming over.

                “This is not what we were promised Kimblee!” he shouted.

                “Yes I know. Even I hadn’t been informed that their weapons were far more powerful than ours.” He said.

                “That’s not what I’m talking about! We’ve been planning this attack with allies in the Amestrian military command for years! They promised-you promised-that when the time came, there would be dissention in the Brigg’s ranks! But there wasn’t the slightest bit of confusion to be seen within the fort! And now this is the result!” the Supreme Commander cried, gesturing at the decimated troops.

                “There’s no reason to be so upset. The fact that we weren’t hit after withstanding such a fierce attack must mean that you and I are the seeds that were chosen for greater things. You should rejoice in the fact that you are one of the chosen…”

                “SHUT UP, DAMN Y-”

                Suddenly, a stray shell struck where the Supreme Commander had been standing, leaving nothing but a bloody crater. Sapphire stood just behind Kimblee, her tail all puffed out, they had been missed by just inches.

                “He died in the middle of our conversation, how rude.” Kimblee remarked.

                Then, Sapphire saw a familiar face running towards them.

                “Dimitri!” She called.

                But he was being followed by other soldiers. One of them pointed a rifle at Kimblee.

                “We are retreating and you are coming with us.” He said.

                Kimblee smirked and Sapphire saw his aura change to orange. He was going to use the philosopher’s stone. Thinking quickly, she nodded to Dimitri who responded by hitting Kimblee in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious. Then, the Captain hoisted the alchemist over his shoulder.

                “He comes with us.” He said.

                “What are you doing Captain Yurkov?” the soldier with the rifle said in Drachman; there were murmurs of agreement amongst the crowd of infantry that had escaped slaughter.

                “Honestly Borya…don’t tell me you joined this fight because you believed every word our Commander said? Are we not all conscripted soldiers?”

                Dimitri looked at the rest of the soldiers.

                “All of you have families yes? We will go through the pass, and then you can go back to them, back to your lives. If there is judgment to be passed on this man it will be done before we can make it back home. He is dying.”

                There were more murmurs, this time about how much burden a dying man would be. Sapphire may not have spoken Drachman, but she could see the faded green auras of the men around her.

                “You leave Stringbean to us. He is our burden to bear.” She said.

                Tired and cold, the soldiers didn’t seem to want to waste the energy arguing. As long as they wouldn’t be expected to help or share their rations with the Dimitiri, the blue chimera and the Amestrian alchemist, they were content to just getting home. And so they packed up what they could salvage and started towards the north. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Sapphire shows her softer side, and makes friends with a Drachman soldier. 
> 
> I used the ranks of Russia during WWII as a reference and also general knowledge of WWII Russia, such as the conscription of soldiers. 
> 
> In the next chapter, we find out who the mysterious Phenix is.


	12. Chapter 11: The Phenix Situation

About three days into their trek through the snowy pass between the Drachma and Amestrian borders the weary soldiers found a nice cave to camp in; it would certainly keep the elements out better than their flimsy tents. Kimblee had lost a lot of fluids and a fever had crept up on him in the damp, cold weather. Sapphire sighed as she changed the wet cloth on his forehead. He hadn’t stirred much since Dimitri had knocked him out, only coming to just enough for Sapphire to get him to swallow some water or broth. They had managed to feed him about an hour ago, and that in itself was an ordeal. It took several minutes of coaxing, rubbing and sighing to get a bite down, just to have him cough it all back up and suffer through dry heaves. Water was slightly easier, but not by much. Kimblee would take small sips, but give him too much and it all came up.

                Kimblee shifted and groaned, trying to curl against himself. Sapphire silently wished that she had something for the pain he was in.

                “Damnit Stringbean, why couldn’t you have listened?” she sighed.

She ran a wet cloth yet again across Kimblee's forehead.

Sapphire had lost track how often she did this quite a while ago, busy as she was trying to keep the alchemist's fever down and to get some much-needed liquid to slip past his lips and stay in his stomach. It did not help either that Kimblee had long stopped having a sleeping rhythm of any kind, but just spent his days and nights alike drifting in and out of consciousness; Sapphire had taken to simply dozing off whenever Kimblee was in one of his comatose phases, with no care for what hour of the day it might be.

"Sa... fir..."

Sapphire winced as she heard her name barely making it out of the man's dry and inflamed throat. Her paws twitched as another fit of painful, deep coughing followed this pathetic attempt at speaking. Her beak clenched as she listened to Kimblee gasping for air in short, fast, rasping fits.

She waited until his slender frame had stopped shaking before she dared disturb the alchemist again.

"Kimblee?"

His eyes slowly half-opened, and Sapphire cursed inwardly as she noted that they were still as glassed over with feverish heat. She called out again:

"Kimblee."

Sluggishly, the amber eyes turned towards her, though they did not quite manage to focus on her, but that was enough: Sapphire was satisfied that Kimblee could hear her. For the umpteenth time in the last weeks, she held up a cup of tea and explained:

"You need to drink some more."

The tired eyes closed and re-opened; Kimblee understood and agreed. Carefully, Sapphire slipped one paw under his head and lifted it from the blanket; she cautiously brought the cup down to the parched lips and tilted it while praying that this time everything would go just fine. Please, let the tea go down the right way and not cause another coughing fit, and please let it stay nicely in the stomach and not prompt another one of those violent and pointless vomiting episodes.

Kimblee had not eaten in days, there was absolutely nothing left for him to be sick about anymore, and yet his stomach still went on random convulsing bouts every now and then - and Sapphire positively hated those spells. She hated the helplessness she felt as she was forced to sit and watch her ward's body seize up and double over, and listen to the dreadful heaving sounds and the subsequent desperate gasping for air that always followed.

                “How is he?” a familiar voice asked.

                It was Dimitri, with their dinner. The soldiers were at least able to hunt, and Sapphire had even managed to help them before Kimblee’s fever had taken a turn for the worst. The rabbits and other mountainous rodents in the pass had provided plenty of meat to be dried. At least they wouldn’t starve out here.

                Sapphire bit off a chunk of jerky and sighed, she would have had a smoke if it weren’t for her ward’s lungs.

                “Not good. He’s only getting worse.” She replied.

                Just then, Kimblee choked. He managed to turn on his side right before he gagged, bringing up what little they had managed to get down his throat. There were cries of disgust from the side of the cave the soldiers were huddled on but Dimitri shouted something to them in Drachman and they quieted after a bit of grumbling, too tired and cold to argue further. Sapphire waved her paw and the snow bank outside turned to water, washing away the sickness. Then she took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth gently.

                “You’ve done this before?” Dimitri asked.

                Sapphire smiled sadly.

                “Yeah, actually I have. I’m surprised you can tell.” She said.

                “You are careful with him, and you know what to do to help.” Dimitri replied. “Who was it that you cared for before you came here?”

                Sapphire sighed and sat back, her ears drooping.

                “His name was Phenix. He wasn’t a griffin. He was an elf. They’re tall, beautiful people who live long lives barring any sort of health problems. That’s what brought me to him. I had been a healer for a few years and I was hired to take care of Phenix. He was sick like Kimblee is now, only what he had was terminal. I was supposed to be making his last few years as comfortable as I could and this wouldn’t have been a problem if I hadn’t formed a bond with him.”

                “You fell in love?” Dimitri asked.

                Sapphire shook her head.

                “No, it wasn’t love, more of a kinship of the soul, like the traveler’s bond I have with Kimblee. I formed that bond with Phenix, and eventually Phenix died. That’s when I stopped healing. I didn’t want to risk that happening again; I didn’t want to risk the pain.  That’s why I have to save Kimblee, I can’t lose another person so close to me.”

                Dimitri scratched her head in a friendly gesture.

                “Do not worry, we will save him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we finally find out who Phenix was. In Karma, where Sapphire is from, Griffins are a 'helper' race. They like doing things for others, such as healing or crewing airships, any sort of useful task. They aren't usually scientists or leaders of things outside their own community, however, they like being submissive, to a point. Eh...it's easer observed than it is explained. But yeah, the next chapter introduces a new OC.


	13. Chapter 12: Trisha

**Chapter 12: Trisha**

Sleep was denied for the next three days. Kimblee’s condition changed too rapidly to allow it. He would be quiet for a time but all too soon delirium would take hold and he was tormented by the bitterest nightmares. He would writhe in his sleep and it got to the point where Dimitri could no longer carry him. By some stroke of luck Sapphire could have sworn was divine in origin, they found an old hunter’s cabin and holed up in it. Although dusty from years of disuse, it had a fireplace and a small supply of wood inside that had been kept safe from the elements. Using their flint and tinder the Drachman soldiers managed to get a good fire going. But they were almost out of rations and Kimblee was steadily deteriorating.

                “We are almost to the Drachman border. Just a few miles beyond that is the house of the doctor I told you about,” Dimitri said, “But he squirms every time I pick him up. I worry I will drop him.” He gestured to the ailing alchemist.

                Sapphire looked outside, the blizzard was picking up again.

                “I’ll go.” She said at last, “My body is built for the cold. I’ll make the last leg of the journey and find the doctor.”

                “Are you sure?” Dimitri asked.

                Kimblee gave a wet cough and groaned, curling upon himself.

                “I have to,” Sapphire said sadly, “it’s why I was sent here in the first place.”

                She took a few strips of jerky with her and a scarf which Dimitri had insisted on her wearing. She may have been a blue, half-eagle half-lion, alien creature but Dimitri had come to care for her like he would any other human. So with her beak squared in determination, Sapphire set out into the snow.

***

                _The sand is whipping around them, stinging like a thousand bees. Gratefully, Kimblee enters the dilapidated building the Rockbells were working in; it at least would shield them from the incoming sandstorm._

_“Sir, we’ve got a problem.” One of the privates tells him._

_He leads him to a back room where the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Rockbell lie, D.O.A. due to something horrific. The faint ozone scent in the air tells Kimblee it was probably alchemy._

_“Shame. But they stayed true to their calling till the very end. I admire that sort of conviction.” He says._

_He strides over to get a better look at the bodies, to try and determine what kind of equation may have played a part in their deaths. But when he sees Mrs. Rockbell’s face he gasps and stumbles backwards._

_“Sir?” the private asks._

_Kimblee grips his chest, his breathing quickening as a cold wave of dread washes down on him._

_“No. No. NO! NO IT CAN’T BE HER!” he shouts._

_Red hair. Green eyes._

***

Sapphire staggered on through the snow, it was already up to her hocks and elbows. She wished it weren’t so windy so she could fly. But just when she was ready to collapse, she glimpsed a faint light in the distance. With renewed strength she surged on through the snow until she came upon a modestly sized house with it’s porch lights on. She breathed deeply, silently praying that the house’s owner was home. She knocked on the door as loudly as she could, then waited. Just as she was about to knock again the door opened to reveal a woman with red hair and green eyes. Naturally, the woman stared in shock at the bedraggled, brightly colored creature on her doorstep.

                “Please, I mean you no harm,” Sapphire said, “But my friend needs help. We’ve just spent the last few days trying to get to the Drachman border. One of our group is very ill. He needs a doctor and I was told one lived in this town.”

                “Yes. I’m that doctor. Dr. Trisha Lowell.” The woman said.

                Sapphire's eyes widened at the news and she felt like kissing Dr. Lowell she was so elated.

                “Please! You have to hurry with me! He’s dying!” she said.

                Dr. Lowell only took a moment to grab her coat and boots before following Sapphire outside.

                “I have a truck with snow tires. Climb in and show me where to go.” she said.

                Sapphire hopped into the cab of the old truck and pointed the way into the pass, ever grateful when they neared the old hunter’s cabin. She bounded out of the truck with Dr. Lowell on her heels and burst in. But what she found made her heart skip a beat.

                Dimitri was kneeling over Kimblee’s body, he was ashen faced and out of breath.

                “Dimitri? What happened?” Sapphire cried.

                Dimitri took a few breaths to steady himself. “He stopped breathing. But I managed to revive him.” He breathed.

                Sapphire looked back at Dr. Lowell only to find her backed up against the wall of the cabin.

                “Oh my god.” She whispered.

                “Dr. Lowell?” Sapphire asked.

                “It can’t be him,” she said, “Kimblee?”

                A dead silence fell over the cabin’s occupants.

                “You…know him?” Dimitri asked.

                “I do I…I never thought…” Dr. Lowell closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them again, they were burning with determination. “Alright. We need to get him back to my house. I need you all to carry him to my truck. He’ll need to be up front and the rest of you can climb in the back. If we’re going to move him in the state he’s in he can’t be subjected to the elements for too long. Okay, let’s move.”

                The Drachamn soldiers quickly hurried to try and move her ward as painlessly as possible and transfer him to the truck’s cab. Sapphire sighed wearily before she felt someone pat her head. It was Dimitri.

“We’re going to make it.” He said with a smile.

Sapphire smiled back.

“Yes. We’re going to make it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got that done! Introducing Dr. Trisha Lowell, and boy does she know Kimblee! So technically this ends part one. Part 2 will start after I do some Clockwork Exorcist chapters because I am supar behind on that.


	14. Chapter 13: The Dark Doctors

**Chapter 13: The Dark Doctors**

                The blizzard was still raging as Sapphire stood on the small hill, staring into the marbled blue of the portal between worlds. She tapped her talons, wishing her sister’s mate would hurry his tail and pass to her side soon, hopefully with his amazingly skilled mentor in tow. At last there was a crackling noise and snap like lightning and two figures emerged from the other side; one was a cave griffin, black with streaks of red in his wings and a patchwork hide, the other was a man with a shock of white in his otherwise dark hair and prominent skin-graft scar over his left eye.

                “’bout damn time.” Sapphire smirked.

***

                Trisha was exhausted. She had been up all night caring for Kimblee, trying to get his fever to go down. She didn’t need to reach for the thermometer, the young doctor could just feel the heat radiating off of him. He had been coughing dreadfully too, bringing up lumps of discolored mucus; Trisha feared he would tear himself a pneumothorax. He was skinny again, the strange blue creature had said he’d been sick a few times but Trisha could see his ribs. He hadn’t been eating well.

                _“He’s worse than last time too…”_ she thought.

                Just then, there was a knock at the door.

                “Trisha, Franken-skunk and Patches are here.” Sapphire drawled.

                “It’s not my fault I was created!” another voice squawked.

                “I’ll tolerate your nicknames only because you paid me up front.” yet another voice said.

                There was a grumble and Sapphire kicked the door open. Behind her were the scarred man and his patchwork companion.

                “Hello, I’m Doctor Black Jack and this is my companion Zackary.”

                “Zackary Greyshadow, or just Zack.” the griffin said as he and the doctor approached the bed.

                “Hello, I’m Doctor Trisha Lowell. And this is Zolf Kimblee. He’s a…a good friend of mine.”

                She and Black Jack shook hands.

                “So you say he’s been coughing and vomiting?” Black Jack asked.

                “Not so much vomiting as regurgitating his food.” Sapphire said. “Like his body doesn’t want to, or can’t, digest it.”

                Black Jack moved the covers, revealing Kimblee’s, prone, shirtless body. Trisha had to banish the part of her mind that liked seeing him without his shirt off, despite the circumstances that warranted it.

                “He’s got a high fever.” Black Jack noted to Zackary who handed him a thermometer.

                “My best guess is he aspirated some food during one of his vomiting episodes and gave himself pneumonia.” Sapphire said.

                The thermometer beeped and Trisha, who had only seen mercury and glass thermometers, had to wonder how it worked.

                “One-oh-three point five.” Black Jack said.

                Zack took down a note on his medical chart.

                “If he’s vomiting we can’t give him any oral meds.” the griffin chirped.

                “Best get an I.V. installed then.” Black Jack said as he moved to look at the area Kimblee had been wounded almost a week ago. “I thought you said he had been stabbed.”

                “Yeah, and then some magical doctor healed him.” Sapphire griped.

                “An…an alchemist?” Trisha ventured.

                “Cali said they could heal but as far as I know she hasn’t seen it in practice.” Zack added as he inserted the I.V. needle into Kimblee’s arm.

                If Black Jack was listening he gave no indication as he palpitated the area where Kimblee had been stabbed.

                “That doesn’t feel right at all.” He said, “There’s something there, most likely some sort of tumor or growth. We’ll need an X-ray or MRI to see it properly.”

                “X-rays Doc, this place is at least half a century behind us.” Zack said. “Want me to get it?”

                “If you would. Sapphire you should help him.”

                Sapphire grumbled but followed Zack anyway.

                “A tumor?” Trisha said in quiet disbelief after the two griffins had left.

                “I know next to nothing about alchemy, but from what Zackary tells me it’s rather like rearranging atoms; using the basic building blocks of all things to create something entirely new. Tumors are what occur when that process goes wrong, even in something as ‘simple’ as cells dividing. But we won’t know for sure until we get the X-rays back.”

                A string of curses coming down the hall preceded Sapphire and Zack’s arrival with the portable X-ray machine.

                “Sonofabitch this thing is heavy.” The blue healer grumbled.

                “But it’s necessary,” Black Jack said with his usual calm, “the patient is too sick to be moved let alone subjected to the cold of this place. He wouldn’t survive a move.”

                Zack, noticing Trisha’s despondence at those words, rubbed up against her rather like a large cat.

                “Hey, we’ll fix him. That’s what we do.” He said.

                Sapphire held her tongue, it was in Zack’s nature to be friendly, part of the reason he was a ‘failed experiment’.

                “Everyone clear the room,” Black Jack announced, practically shepherding everyone out, himself included, before clicking the remote.

                The whirring of a motor and subsequent clicking told them that the machine was working just fine even after being transported between worlds.

                “We’ll have our results within the hour,” Black Jack said, “I just need to find a room where we can develop.”

                “You can use the basement,” Trisha said, “It would make a good dark room.”

***

                About an hour later Trisha, Black Jack, Zackary and Sapphire were crowded in the basement, looking over the X-ray results.

                “Just as I thought, there’s some sort of mass just to the left of his large intestine.”

                “That’s where he was stabbed,” Sapphire said, “and then that guy cast some sort of healing spell on him.”

                “Alchemy.” Zack corrected.

                “Shut up fuzzball.” Sapphire growled.

                “We’ll need to operate,” Black Jack continued, “it’s that mass that’s the root of his problems. Once I remove it we’ll be able to get on with curing the pneumonia.”

                “So you mean to operate on him even when he’s this sick?” Trisha asked.

                “There’s no choice, he’ll never recover with that mass in him. I’ll sterilize the room he’s in now, Zack, you’ll assist me.”

                “Aye, aye captain!” Zack said, saluting.

                Sapphire and Trisha could only wait in the living room while the two dark doctors went about their preparations. When they finally closed the door on the makeshift surgery suite, Trisha was left glancing anxiously at the door. Sapphire took the opportunity to broach something that she had been curious about since she had first met Trisha.

                “You and Kimblee have a history, am I right?” Sapphire asked.

                Trisha sighed but smiled.

                “It’s a long story.” She admitted.

                “They’re going to be in there for a few hours.” the griffin pointed out.

                Trisha nodded.

                “Right. I guess the best place to start is the beginning.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gave me some problems because it's kinda a lull considering the preceding chapter and the chapters to follow. But it's a necessary lull. 
> 
> If you've never read/watched Black Jack. Do so. It's my favorite manga ever and BJ is such a cool/hawt guy. 
> 
> The next two chapters will cover the rise and 'fall' of Trisha and Kim's relationship.  
> Should I have put a Black Jack tag on this? He's not in it for long.


	15. Chapter 14: Before we Knew Each Other Part 1

**Chapter 14: Before we Knew Each Other Part 1**

                It started innocently. They were walking home from school when a thunderstorm burst from the clouds with little warning. The children scattered, screaming as lightning flashed and thunder boomed. Trisha held her book over her head and searched franticly for a place to escape the now pouring rain.

                “Over here!” a voice called.

                She turned and could just make out a familiar face; it was Zolf Kimblee, and he was standing under the doorway of an old barn. Trisha ducked inside and he closed the door behind her.

                “Thanks Zolf.” she said.

                “Don’t call me that!” he snapped.

                Trisha pouted, hurt and insulted at the outburst. Zolf sighed.

                “Sorry it’s just…Zolf was my dad’s name.”

                “Oh.” Trisha replied.

                Everyone in town knew but didn’t really like to talk about Mrs. Kimblee. When their son was just a baby her husband had left for who knows where and never looked back. It was truly unfortunate that Zolf Kimblee was named after his estranged father.

                “Well I can’t just call you by your last name, that would be strange. How about I call you ‘Kim’ for short?”

                ‘Kim’ shrugged indifferently and went to go sit on a bale of hay, Trisha followed his suit. He had never seemed to be a sociable person to Trisha, she had often seen him in the corner of the schoolyard with his nose in a book rather than off playing with the other boys; and it wasn’t like he was picked on for it. He just always seemed to have something better to do.

                Trisha looked over to Kimblee who was scratching something in the dirt with a longer, stiffer piece of a hay stalk. She peered closely at what he was drawing, they were some kind of symbols in a circle.

                “What’s that?” she asked.

                Kimblee startled a bit, too absorbed in his work to notice Trisha.

                “Oh, uh, it’s called Alchemy.” he said, making a few final scratched in the dirt before hopping off the hay bale and walking over to a bag of sand that had torn open. The farmer who owned the barn must have kept them around ever since the river flooded about three years back. She watched intently as Kimblee scooped up a handful of sand and carried it back over to his drawing. He placed the sand in the middle of the circle and placed his hand on it. There was a flash of light and a crackle as electricity shot out of the ground. Trisha gasped and crawled further back on the hay bale. At last the light dimmed and the sparks fizzled away. She peered back down and saw Kimblee holding what appeared to be a glass sculpture, with tendrils of shining glass curling and weaving about like the roots of a tree.

                “Pretty neat huh? It’s what happens when lightning strikes sand. It’s called fulgurite.”

                “But…how…”

                Kimblee grinned.

                “It’s a science! Alchemy uses symbols and circles to change the world around us. With it I was able to create something that naturally happens, only better. Real fulgurite isn’t as eye catching as this.” He looked at the sculpture and shrugged, then handed it to Trisha. “Here, keep it.”

                “You’re giving it to me?” Trisha said, trying not to blush.

                “Sure, why not? I have to get home anyway, it looks like the rain’s let up. See you tomorrow.”

                Trisha watched as he left, stunned and flattered.

***

                About six months later the harvest festival was in full swing. During that time Trisha and Kimblee had become close friends. Kimblee was really becoming quite the aspiring alchemist, showing off to her friends with what he called ‘parlor tricks’. Trisha and Kimblee were walking around the fairgrounds when the fireworks began. Every year the fireworks man would come to the village in time for the festival and put on a show.

                Trisha looked from the dazzling display of lights and colors to her friend who had a fixed expression on his face.

                “I know that look Kim.” she teased. “What are you thinking?”

                “Fireworks are a combination of elements and fire. Energy. It’s like alchemy but without the circles…I wonder if I could create an alchemic equation to do the same. I could make anything explode with the right circle…”

                “So go talk to him. Maybe the fireworks guy knows about alchemy. Maybe that’s how he creates some of those really special fireworks, the ones the look like pictures.”

                At that moment a firework exploded into a multitude of stars which formed the shape of a bird.

                “Yeah, that’s got to be alchemy.” Kim said, starting towards the fireworks man’s caravan.

                Trisha giggled and followed, Kim would follow an alchemy lead to the ends of the earth.

                The fireworks man was just finishing up the big finale when they caught up with him.

                “I need to talk to you.” Kimblee said.

                The man climbed down from the top of his caravan and looked Kimblee square in the face, Kimblee glared back with determination. He was not a tall man, but had a rough white beard and some scars on his face from when the occasional fiery mishap occurred.

                “Alrigh’, what do ya wanna know?” the man said.

                “Your fireworks, you use alchemy to produce some of them right? Like that bird one?”

                “What do you know about alchemy?” the man asked.

                “Enough to recognize it when I see it; enough to do a bit myself, and I don’t mean just patching up broken pottery. I started creating fulgarite about a year ago. But those fireworks, I want to learn how you do that. I think it can be applied to more than just a light show.”

                If the man was impressed, his steely eyes didn't show it. He looked Kimblee up and down, and then went rummaging in a chest tethered to the side of the caravan.

                “Give me a bit of a demonstration.” he said, handing Kimblee a jar of sand.

                Kimblee nodded and got to work, drawing that familiar circle on the ground and dumping the sand in the middle. Given the amount of sand he had to work with, the fulgarite sculpture produced this time was knee high, and by far the best Kimblee had done yet.

                The man inspected Kimblee’s handiwork, touching the tendrils of glass that swirled their way upwards like some alien plant.

                “Impressive, it’s got form, and stability. No unnecessary details yet still eye pleasing.” He nodded, “you’re good kid. I tell ya what though, give yourself a year to finish up school and everything and then come to me. Same time of year, same place and then I’ll take you on as an apprentice.”

                Kimblee frowned a little at the prospect of having to wait an entire year to begin his training but nodded in understanding.

                “It won’t be a cake walk though, you’ll be working for me and making fireworks is dangerous, one wrong move and you’ll be a pile of ash.”

                “I understand sir.” Kimblee said. “I’ll be here exactly one year from now.”

***

                “And next year he left to pursue his alchemy training. A few months later my brother Gregory got me a place in a nursing school in South City. From there I got my doctorate and began my residency in South City Hospital. All this was over the span of about sixteen years. Then, the war in Ishval broke out.”

                “I remember him telling me about that.” Sapphire said, “it was a big thing apparently.”

                “Yes, it was,” Trisha nodded, “so much so that the military put up fliers asking for doctors and nurses to contribute to the frontlines. What could I do but sign up; all we were getting in the hospital were amputees. I thought that if I was out there, with the soldiers, that at least I might be able to save a leg or two. Or a life for that matter. But fate had something more in store for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These parts have mostly been hard for me because it takes a bit to fill in those gaps in Kim's life. I'm thinking that this might take place in three chapters now as that seems a better fit for the events I have in mind.
> 
> Triva: 
> 
> Stole the lighting glass sculpture from Sweet Home Alabama
> 
> Based Kim's character as a kid on Kanta from Totoro.


	16. Chapter 15: Before we Knew Eachother Pt 2

**Chapter 15: Before we Knew Eachother Pt 2**

                It was hot. Hot and stifling in the medical tent where Trisha was doing her best to stitch up a large gash on a soldier’s leg.

                “Dr. Lowell we have a patient coming in with shrapnel wounds.” a nurse informed her.

                “Okay Cathrine, take over for me here will you?”

                Trisha went to wash her hands when she heard shouting.

                “Oh like I was supposed to know there was a tank of petrol in that building!” The voice sounded oddly familiar. “Besides it’s just a few cuts!”

                “Those ‘few cuts’ are going to fester Crimson! Now get in there, that’s an order!” another voice barked.

                The man called ‘Crimson’ was unceremoniously shoved through the tent flap. Trisha’s mouth dropped. The man gathered himself and shot a glare at the tent flap before turning to her, his eyes widened.

                “Trisha?”

                “Kimblee?”

                “What are you doing here?” they said in unison.

                A flabbergasted silence fell over them.

                “Uh…” Kimblee fumbled for his watch, “I’m a…I’m a state alchemist.” he said, holding up the silver device.

                “Oh! Wow!” Trisha said, “I’m uh, I’m a doctor. I volunteered.”

                “Wow, you’re a doctor? That’s amazing!” Kimblee said.

                “And you’re a state alchemist! That’s wonderful!” Trisha replied.

                They both stood there, grinning at one another before Trisha gasped.

                “Shrapnel wounds!”

                “Ah! Right!” Kimblee said, scrambling to undo his coat, thankful that he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt underneath. “It’s no big deal really, I’m usually pretty good at this sort of thing.” he explained as he sat down.

                Trisha took his arm and began to examine it. The first thing she noticed was how muscular he had become. She flinched and tried to hide the blush rising in her cheeks. His wounds were shallow, only cuts really, but one had a piece of metal still embedded in the flesh.

                “You’ve got a piece still in you. I’m going to take it out and it’s going to hurt.” she told him.

                “You can’t give me anything to numb it?” Kimblee asked.

                Trisha shook her head, “We’re stressed for supplies and I’m only allowed to give anesthetic to patients with serious injuries. Besides,” she joked, “you’re a state alchemist, I’m sure you can handle it.”

                Kimblee smirked.

***

“Hey Trisha.”

                Trisha turned around; Kimblee was leaning against a tent pole, hands in his pockets, looking as relaxed as always. But upon closer inspection, Trisha noticed small circles under his eyes. He was clearly exhausted.

                “You’re back. Why aren’t you in bed? You must be exhausted.” she asked, she knew his platoon had been on a mission to clear out some insurgents. That was three days ago.

                Kimblee smirked, taking a seat on an empty cot.

“I just got back from the field actually; we’ve been trapped in a backwater village digging out those Ishbalan rats for three days. When Gran saw that we were in for the long haul, he put us on amphetamines, I’ve been wired ever since. I was…wondering if you could give me something to knock me out, I have a feeling these drugs won’t be out of my system until morning.”

                Trisha was now frowning in earnest. She could see his hands shaking as he rubbed them together, probably the reason he had had them in his pockets in the first place.

                “The amphetamines…how many did they give you?”

                Kimblee shrugged.

                “Two…why?”

                Trisha frowned even more, becoming increasingly worried by the second.

                “Amphetamines are strong.” She said.

                Kimblee gave her a ‘you’re-telling-me’ look.

                “And they need to be calibrated according to body weight. You’re pretty skinny.”

                “I’m _lean_.” Kimblee corrected.

                Trisha rolled her eyes.

                “Don’t argue semantics with me Kim,” she chided, “we’ve known each other too long now for that.”

                “Fine, fine,” he said with a wave of his hand, the tattoo flashing even in the low lamplight, it had shocked her when he had first showed her, and part of her was still frightened that he kept his dangerous alchemy so close, “you were saying?”

                “You’re…lean and I think that they gave you too much of the drug. I can’t give you any downers, not while you still have uppers in your system.”

                Kimblee sighed irritably.

                “But I also can’t let you go like this. I can see that you’re still shaking from the high. I’d like you stay here for the night, so I can monitor you.”

                Kimblee watched as Trisha rummaged around in the medical supply cabinet before turning back to him, a thermometer in hand.

                “I’m not sick Trish, I’m high.” He said, regretting he had even opened his mouth in the first place when Trisha immediately slipped the offending device under his tongue.

                “Amphetamines keep you awake but they have some serious side effects. Fever, for one. As well as gastric issues and heart problems. You’ve only been on them for three days now so you shouldn’t have to worry about any of the serious problems.” She removed the thermometer and checked the reading, “Thirty-seven degrees. Slightly feverish.” She concluded.

                Kimblee scowled.

                “What are the other side-effects of the crap?” he grumbled.

                “Well,” Trisha said, rattling off another list of symptoms, “psychological side effects include: high self-esteem, self-confidence, irritability, aggression, hubris, excessive feelings of power and superiority. But since you’re like that normally it might be a little hard to tell.”

                They laughed. But as they did so Trisha’s hand came down to rest on his head. She gasped, immediately parting his hair to get a better look. Yes, it was definetly a wound, a large gash across his scalp.

                “Kim, when did you get this?” she asked.

                “Second morning. I miscalculated a blast and a rock came flying at me. I was too out of it to realize. That’s when Gran put me on the drugs. Ow!” he hissed as Trisha dabbed the gash with disinfectant.

                “Oh hush.” She said softly.

                The gash, although large, wasn’t deep enough to require stitching or even a bandage. After cleaning it she encouraged her childhood friend to lay down and try and get some rest. She busied herself for a time with cleaning up but when she turned back she nearly gaped. Kimblee was sitting up in bed in the white t-shirt he wore under his uniform and, she could only guess because he had the sheets pulled up to his waist, his boxers. Sure, she’d seen him like this before; hell, she’d even seen him shirtless, in the summer when all the kids in town would go down to the lake and swim. But that was when they were kids. Now they were adults, in the middle of a warzone.

***

                “He took to spending most of his nights in the medical tent,” Trisha explained to Sapphire, “he said it was because the beds were more comfortable but we both knew that the cots were the same as the ones supplied to the soldiers. But I was always afraid, afraid that one day he’d be the one they carried into the tent with some part of his body blown away. Or…or that he wouldn’t come back at all. And I could tell he was worried too. After he came back from investigating those two doctors who had been killed he was more on edge around me. I think he was worried for my safety. Worried that I could get hurt when he wasn’t there.”

***

                Trisha was packing her things when Kimblee burst into the tent.

                “Kim? Are you alright?” she asked.

                “Yeah…” Kimblee said, “I just got word that I’m being transferred to sector K. We’re moving out tomorrow…are you packing?”

                Trisha sighed and closed the lid on her trunk.

                “Yeah. I’m leaving Kim, it’s too dangerous here. The blood, the death…I can’t take it anymore, I’m not suited to be a wartime doctor.”

                Kimblee sighed; was that relief Trisha heard?

                “That’s fine Trisha. Actually that’s great. It’s becoming dangerous here and I...I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

                Trisha nodded.

                “I hope we can meet up when this is all over.” she said.

                “That’s a promise.”

***

                “Did he keep that promise?” Sapphire asked.

                Trisha gave a half-hearted chuckle.

                “Yeah, but it’s not the way you think.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this sort of relates back to the fever dream Kimblee has in chapter 12. That's a nightmare he's had since Ishval. I decided that I did want to confront what he did in Ishval, instead of avoiding it like most of his fan writers do, or making that he was sorry about it, that I wanted to have him have nightmares not about killing Ishvalans, but about Ishvalans killing the one person he cared about. He's still a slightly racist bastard, but when it comes to Trisha he'd lay down his life for her. 
> 
> And you can't even guess the next chapter, it's like fate threw pies in their faces. I wonder what fate pie tastes like...


	17. Chapter 16: Before we Knew Each Other Pt 3

**Chapter 16: Before we Knew Each Other Pt 3**

“Good lord…he’s a mess this one.” Chuck said as he wheeled a gurney in.

                “I’ve seen worse.” Prison Doctor Trisha Lowell said as she began scrubbing in.

                “But Doc you ain’t even seen ‘im.” Chuck replied.

                “Aw come on Chuck,” Davy said, “You know the Doc was in the war, she’s seen it all.”

                It had been three months since the end of the war, and Trisha had come to work in Central Prison’s infirmary as a doctor. She didn’t mind the work, it paid well enough and her assistants were fine people. Trisha turned around to face her patient and her jaw dropped.

                “Oh my God…it’s him…” she whispered.

                Her more-than-childhood-friend lay on the gurney, pale and gasping for breath, unconscious.

***

                “You met him at the prison?!” Sapphire gasped, her beak hanging open.

                Trisha nodded.

                “Yes, now that I think back on it, it was almost as if it were some sort of divine sign that there was a connection between us…”

                “And he’s had pneumonia before?” the blue griffin continued.

                “Yes, and it nearly killed him.”

***

                “Doc?” Davy asked.

                “You know this guy?” Chuck said.

                Trisha suddenly whirled around.

                “Why is he here?!” she shouted.

                “Wh-what?” Chuck stammered.

                “Doc, that’s the Crimson Alchemist.” Davy explained.

                “I know who he is!” she shouted, “Why is he here? What the hell happened?!”

                “Uh…he’s sick?” Davy suggested.

                “He used his alchemy on some higher-ups. He killed them. He’s a psychopath.” said Chuck.

                She took a long, hard look at her patient. He was rail-thin, practically swimming in the green prison garb. Not that he had ever had much meat on him, although what he did have was pure muscle. But it was distressing to see the outline of his bones through his pale skin. His eyes were shadowed and deeply sunken. His long black hair was matted to his forehead with sweat and he gasped for air, his lungs rattling.

                “I’ve seen bodies that looked livelier.” she sighed, “start him on oxygen and get him into some clean clothes, I’m going to look up something before I begin treating him.”

                “You don’t want us to take care of that?” Chuck asked.

                Dr. Trisha shook her head.

                “No, he’s my project now.” She said.

                But as she went to leave she took one glance back.

                “What the hell happened to you Kim?”

Trisha had left a few months before the war had ended. Like Dr.’s Knox and Marco, she had grown depressed from the carnage of war. She had returned to her modest apartment in Central and shut herself out from all war news. So it was only natural that she had absolutely no idea of what had happened to her former comrade. After she had received him as a patient, only a few hours ago, she had gone to the library to look up old newsreels and microfiches. What she saw shocked her.

Unstable was a word that she had heard passed around the camp from time to time. Once it was used to refer to a Major who had been caught trying to kill himself after shooting some civilians. She couldn’t recall his name, something with an H? No…Stallone? Stallion? Eh, she couldn’t be bothered. The other time she had heard the word unstable was to describe Kimblee. But the war wasn’t what made Kimblee unstable, oh no, he came unstable, she wondered if he had ever been any other way. She couldn’t remember him without that maniacal glint in his eyes. There was something dangerous about Kimblee, like a wild animal that had been living among humans for most of its life. Sure it was tame enough to not be an immediate threat, but there was always that chance that it could one day snap.

There were certain kinds of instability too. There was the kind she had seen in the newsreel. She remembered it too clearly for her liking. He was standing there, his shirt and hair fluttering in the warm desert wind, a mischievous smirk on his face before he clapped his hands and tore a rift in the ground. And there was the instability she had seen in the trial footage. His hair seemed so long out of its usual tie. She vaguely remembered that she had seen him like this once before, when he had asked to borrow a strip of bandage to tie it back. He had said it got in the way of his work. Trisha had cut him a length of linen but asked why he simply didn’t just cut his hair. She couldn’t remember if he gave her an answer.

He was definetly unstable in the trial footage, his hair hung loosely in his face, his hands, god his wrists didn’t have an ounce of meat on them, were chained almost painfully behind his back. He was drugged out of his mind, they didn’t want him to speak; they claimed his insane ramblings had no place in court. His eyes, he looked sick even then, a sort of fog had formed over them. She looked over the amount sedatives they had administered. No wonder he had looked so sick, so in pain; too much of the drug could make you dizzy and therefor nauseous. She could see him trying to curl up on his stomach only to have his head yanked up and his posture forcibly straightened. She bit her lip as he hissed in pain, his features tightening. It was frightening to see such a transformation from the wild beauty in the newsreel to the scraggly creature in the trial film, to the dying man in the hospital bed before her.

She sighed, enough reminiscing, enough moping; time to get to work. Trisha placed the ends of her stethoscope in her ears and the diaphragm on his chest. They had long undone his cuffs so that he would be more comfortable; it had taken a lot of work to get the warden to do that but because of their past relationship and the fact that he was too weak to move, let alone transmute anything, Trisha had finally gotten the warden to free him. She wrinkled her nose at what she heard. His breaths were wheezy, ragged and rattling. She could almost hear fluid sloshing around in his lungs as he struggled for air.  She felt his forehead, his skin was so blazingly hot that it reminded her of Ishbal; how the sand would get so scorching you would get blisters from touching it if you weren’t careful. Her hand ghosted down his cheek and along his jaw line, lightly brushing against the stubble that had grown. A thin layer of sweat had formed and already soaked through the loose shirt they had put him in. Trisha knew she couldn’t leave him there in wet clothes.

_“Professional. It’s strictly professional Trisha. It’s not like you’re about to jump the guy.”_

With that fact cemented, albeit poorly, in her mind Trisha began to unbutton the sweat- sodden shirt. After a few minutes of fumbling she finally managed to wrangle it off. The pants would have to stay until either Davy or Chuck returned.

With his shirt removed though, Trisha could finally see how horribly thin he was. Ribs and vertebra poked out under pale flesh, what was once a slender body build had turned into a walking skeleton. Although Pneumonia, which she had already deduced he had, did cause a wane in appetite, he hadn’t been sick long enough for it to have done all this.

“Why haven’t you been eating?” she whispered.

She didn’t even know why she had decided to make a personal project out of nursing the Crimson Alchemist back to health. She had told her assistants that because they had known each other in the war, he trusted her and would let her work with little danger, little being a relative term.

Suddenly, his breathing hitched and he began to struggle beneath the sheets, coughing slightly as he did so. One of his hands reached up and fumbled with the oxygen mask, trying to pry it off.

                “Hey!” Trisha yelped.

                She grabbed his hand to stop him but immediately let go. Those hands were dangerous, and the energy she could feel pulsing through the tattoos didn’t lessen her fear. He groaned and squirmed a bit more, his heavy pants fogging up the mask, before he opened his eyes. Trisha felt sadness twist in her heart as she looked into those golden orbs, their usual luster obscured by the fog of fever. But then they widened in realization.

                “T-Trish…” his back arched as that one word wracked his body with coughs.

                Going into doctor mode, Trisha rolled him onto his side and lifted the mask up, gently rubbing his back as he hacked up sickly, yellow phlegm. She felt his body shudder with each gag, sweat rolling off his brow in rivulets. At last the coughs died down and he just lay there, wheezing, his eyes shut tight against the pain. With a careful, practiced hand Trisha took a pad of gauze from the tray next to the bed and wiped the sputum off the sheets and his lips before replacing the mask and rolling him onto his back, replacing the damp washcloth she had been using to cool his 101° fever.

                “You shouldn’t talk.” She said, “You have a severe case of what we call walking pneumonia.”

                “Trisha..it’s you.” He whispered.

                _“He never did listen to me.”_ Trisha thought sardonically.

                “Wh…what are you…you work here?” those last few words left him gasping for air.

                “You really shouldn’t talk Kim; that mask isn’t exactly a fashion statement.” Trisha reminded him.

                He shut his eyes again and eventually his breathing slowed, indicating that he was asleep once more. Trisha watched him for a while longer before getting up to do some other work.

                “I’ll be right here if you need me.” she whispered, laying a hand on his head.

***

                “He’s so thin it’s scary. And he didn't have much meat on him to begin with. I want to get some food into him, something that won’t upset his stomach though; it looks like he hasn’t eaten properly in days.”

                “You have kitchens at the prison, don’t you?” Mary asked.

                “I think that’s part of the problem, the prison food probably wreaked havoc on his insides. I wouldn’t be eating much if I was in his position either.” Trisha said, taking a seat near the kitchen counter with her head leaning on one hand.

                “Did he ever have trouble eating in Ishbal? Adjusting to the soldier pills?” Mary asked as she began boiling water for a light broth.

                Trisha shook her head. The soldier pills and amphetamines had been hard on many of the infantry and alchemists alike, but Kimblee had never come to her for something like a stomach ache, only the shaking and jitteriness from the high had bothered him.

                “Nope. He was as healthy as a horse in the war.”

                “A real stallion.” Mary snickered.

                “I’m not looking at him if that’s what you’re suggesting!” She sighed, “then again, he probably wouldn’t come to me for something like that, he’d probably shrug it off as something more like an annoyance than anything.” She groaned, “Great, how many symptoms is he hiding from me?”

                Mary smirked.

                “Oh yeah, you’re really not looking at him.”

***

                Trisha returned about an hour later with a brown paper bag that held the container of soup. Davy was there, quietly working on his paperwork.

                “Hey.” She whispered, not wanting to wake her patient up, “how is he?”

                “No change,” Davy said quietly, “he was squirming around a bit before; his fever’s starting to get to him. But other than that he’s been pretty quiet.”

                Trisha bit her lip, thinking of what to do if he became restless, if delirium took its hold. She’d have to bind him to the bed and something about that unsettled her.

 _“A man like him should never be restrained.”_ She thought.

 She walked over and twitched aside the curtain around the hospital bed. He was curled up on his side; his hair, out of its usual tie, clung to his back and forehead with sweat. His breathing was steady, but harsh and raspy. Trisha hated to wake him, but he needed nourishment if he ever hoped to recover. She gently shook him.

                “Hey.” She said softly.

                He grumbled a bit and rolled over; removing the oxygen mask before sitting up, albeit slowly, every joint in his body ached.

                “How do you feel?”

                “Awful…” he rasped.

                Trisha gently felt his forehead, no change in temperature.

                “Do you think you could manage to eat something? It’s not prison food, don’t worry, I got this from a friend of mine.” she said as she placed the container of soup on the table next to the bed.

                Kimblee eyed the soup before saying,

                “Yeah, I think I could try.”

                He actually managed to swallow a good portion of the soup before lying back down, exhaustion claiming him. Trisha smiled sweetly and stroked his hair out of his face.

                “Doc?”

                Trisha startled, and suddenly realized what she had been doing.

                “Here ya go Doc.” Davy said as he handed her Kim’s medical chart.

                “Th-thanks.” Trisha said.

                Davy grinned in a knowing way and went back to doing his rounds. Trisha sighed and took a seat next to Kimblee, preparing for an all-night vigil.

                It was around midnight when Trisha was woken by a deep, wet coughing. She winced as she sat up straight, trying to stretch out the crick she had gotten in her neck from sleeping in a chair. Then she remembered just what she was doing in that chair and her eyes snapped open. Kimblee was sitting up in bed, grabbing at his chest as another coughing fit overtook him. His lungs were filling with fluid and the drugs weren’t working fast enough to stop it.

                “Hang on Kim, I’ll be right back.”

                She ran to the showers and turned them on hot, full blast, letting clouds of steam permeate the room. Then she quickly dashed back to Kimblee; he had stopped coughing and was now trying to catch his breath.

                “Come on.” she said, grabbing his arm and forcing him to stand.

                Kimblee only managed to stand on his own for a few seconds before another coughing fit brought him to his knees. Trisha caught him and pulled his arm over her shoulders, supporting him as they made their way into the steamy showering room. Kimblee immediately started coughing and spat a lump of mucus onto the floor.

                “Sorry…” he rasped.

                “No, you’re ill, you can’t apologize for that.” Trisha said as they slumped against a wall.

                Kimblee shook his head, “No, not that. I’m sorry for…” another cough and a hack, “I’m sorry for breaking our promise.”

                “Oh.” Trisha said, looking at the floor.

                “You have to understand…” Kimblee gasped, “After you left…the things I got into…”

                He seemed to be struggling to explain.

                “Kim, please, stop. Stop talking. You’re in enough pain as it is. Just try to relax.” Trisha said.

                And so they sat in silence as the steam loosened the gunk clogging Kimblee’s lungs and he continued to cough. It was early in the morning when his lungs had cleared, along with his fever; and Trisha was left feeling sick, wondering what her friend had tried to tell her.

***

                “The next day they took him back to his cell and I resigned. I couldn’t stand working in the infirmary, knowing he was just a few floors above, chained and alone. I came here, opened a small home clinic and began my meager living here.” Trisha concluded.

                “And now the fates have brought you together once more. You’re in a cosmic mess you know that.” Sapphire smirked.

                Just then, the door opened and Black Jack and Zack entered the living room. Sapphire and Trisha stood up, eager for news.

                “The surgery was a success, we’ve removed the growth. He should recover now but I’ll be keeping him sedated for a little while longer, and then on heavy painkillers. He’ll be on a liquid diet until his stomach can tolerate food. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to lie down.” Black Jack said.

                And with that he collapsed on the couch and quickly fell asleep.

                “Don’t worry,” Zack assured them, “Doc always passes out after a good surgery.”

                And with that the black patchwork griffin yawned and curled up next to his ward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we finally end the Before we knew each other arc. To those who saw the new cover for this story: there will be 3 separate covers for these chapters, and then one for the second part of SR which covers everything after these chapters. These 3 chapters have been the intermission of the story. 
> 
> And I hoped you enjoyed! Comment me! I read them I swear! 
> 
> so ronery....


	18. Chapter 17: Her Voice

**Chapter 17: Her Voice**

_Bright lights. White sheets. Masked and gowned figures. One of them placed a hissing black thing over Kimblee's nose and mouth before a gentle, yet strange voice urged him to "breathe deeply." His head already muzzy from the sleep medication, Kimblee obeyed and his surroundings faded away into swirling darkness._

_“He’s so congested doc; do you think he’ll get enough of the gas?”_

_“We’ll leave it on a bit longer, just to make sure.”_

_“Kimblee?”_

Something cold and wet touched his forehead, and he began shivering.

_“That voice…could it be?”_

He felt awful; at least, he thought he did. He was having trouble thinking. He tried to hold on to…to something but it seemed to slip through his fingers, as if it were made of sand. Sand, sand…fulgurite…Trisha…where was he? When was he? No it was…it was…it wasn’t then he knew that. He tried to say something, to call out, but his mouth wouldn’t work, his tongue felt thick. He was helpless.

***

                Trisha looked up from her book and saw Kimblee twitching, obviously in distress, despite the morphine slowly dripping into his system. She took his hand in hers and gripped it tightly. His fever was very high, she could feel the dry heat emanating through his skin. Black Jack had warned her about his high temperature. He had wanted to restrain him, in case he hurt himself in his delirium but Trisha wouldn’t have it, not after what she had seen in the prison.

Kimblee let out a pained sort of whimper and she felt a pang in her heart. He was so sick. But he would make it, she assured herself once again. Kimblee whimpered again, and his breathing quickened. So, she began reading out loud, trying to take his mind off the pain. And it seemed to work, because soon after Kimblee quieted and slipped into what she hoped was a restful sleep. It was then that she noticed how hungry she was. With her patient resting comfortably now, it wouldn’t hurt to slip out and get some food.

                “He’s asleep?” Black Jack asked.

                The doctor was laying lengthwise on the couch, reading an Amestrian newspaper; more likely out of boredom than a real interest in the goings on of a country not his own. Zack had explained that to her that Sapphire's sister, a griffin by the name of Cali, was stationed as a traveler to a military alchemist by the name of Roy Mustang. That name sounded familiar to Trisha, she thought she had heard it in the war. The black griffin went on to explain that he and this Cali were mates, and he wished the military didn’t control the media so much because the last time he had visited Amestris they had been under attack from some monsters called Homunculi. Trisha wished Kimblee were awake so she could ask him about them.

                “Yes,” Trisha answered, realizing she had been standing lost in thought, “He’s finally calmed down.”

                “For now. I wish you’d let me give him a paralytic.” Black Jack grunted.

                Zack hit him with his wing. “How’d you feel if it was Yuri, eh?”

                “Don’t start that again.” Black Jack said.

                “Aw come off it Doc, chicks dig scars!” then he turned to Trisha and whispered none too quietly, “I’ve been tellin’ him this for years.”

                Sapphire pushed past them and clamped Zack’s tail in her beak.

                “Quit bothering people.” she huffed.

                Sapphire had seemed more withdrawn ever since she had arrived at Trisha’s house, although she occasionally checked up on Kimblee, she wasn’t stuck to his side like she had been previously. Zack had explained it as a sort of withdrawal for travelers. According to him, when a traveler had reached a certain waypoint in their wards life, they experienced withdrawal of attachment to their ward. Since Kimblee was now in Trisha’s hands, Sapphire had less of an instinct to be by his side every waking moment. It’s not that she was bored either; she read books and entertained the others with stories from her homeworld.

                Trisha looked at the two griffins and couldn’t help but smile as Sapphire jested that she could pluck his tail right off because she believed him to be sewn and stuffed like some plush animal. Zack was indignant at the thought.

\---

                In the fog that surrounded his senses Kimblee heard a voice, clear as a bell. He knew that voice from…from somewhere. Whoever it was was comforting him with their voice; and although he couldn’t pick out what they were saying, he started to relax, concentrating on the meter of their voice instead of how he couldn’t feel, couldn’t think or see or move or breathe. Eventually he slipped into sleep, and as he slept, the voice went away, and so did whatever power it held over shielding him from nightmares.

                _Zolf J. Kimblee walks through the field of corpses. It’s a gruesome sight, even he, himself, is covered in cuts and scrapes from explosions gone awry. He was the master of fireworks, and yet there were still days when his alchemy bit back. Fireworks were not to be belittled or ignored in their power._

_There’s a strange laugh in the back of his mind, but he ignores it. That laugh's not him, he’s content with his lot in life for now._

_Someone coughs; it sounds like they’re in extreme pain, blood and bile fighting their way up and out of the dying body. Kimblee swallows heavily, then walks over. The body is shuddering, lying in a pile of blood thick enough to drown in. He can’t recognize the victim, as another corpse obscures the face from his line of vision._

_He gently pushes the top corpse off of the live soldier, and then gasps._

_“K-Kimblee…”_

_“Trisha!” Kimblee falls to his knees beside his more-than-friend. He tears his jacket off and presses it to her chest wound in a vain attempt to staunch the flow of blood, slower now than before, even though person laughing in the back of his mind tells him she’s lost too much blood to recover._

_She gently pushes his fumbling hands away. “It’s too late now. It was too late as soon as I was shot. Kim…you have to tell my parents that I…I died doing something good…” her speech is broken with wheezes. He searches her glassy eyes for some sign of hope, but he can’t find any._

_“Don’t die on me, Trisha. Please, don’t. I-I need you.” he puts a bloody hand to her cheek and lifts her head to look into her eyes again, then he realizes._

_She’s gone._

_“TRISHA!” he screams._

And this time the screams are very loud and very real.

\---

                Trisha raced upstairs to find Kimblee screaming and thrashing in bed.

                “Trisha!” he cried out again.

                Trisha ran to his side and he grabbed onto her, gripping her arms hard and attempting to drag himself out of bed.

                “Trisha.” he whimpered, too delirious to know she was the one holding him.

                Trisha put her arm around his waist to help hoist him into a sitting position but stopped as her hand came in contact with something hot and wet. She pulled her hand away and let out a small scream, it was covered in blood.       

                “Black Jack! Zack! Sapphire!” she yelled.

                The tromping of many pairs of feet answered her call.

                “What’s going on?” Black Jack asked, starting towards the bed, medkit in hand.

                “He’s torn his stitches out.” Trisha said, laying Kimblee down and yanking the covers away.

                The midsection of the pajamas Kimblee was wearing was a sodden, red mess. Eyes half glazed, Kimblee looked over at Trisha and saw her hand covered in blood. He let out a small cry and tried to move to her but she caught him and held him down.

                “Easy Kim, easy, I’m okay. I’m not hurt.” she hushed.

                Kimblee’s eyes moved towards Black Jack who was preparing a sedative to knock him out while he and Zack redid the sutures. His breathing quickened and he kicked his legs, trying to get away. But he was so weak from illness and bloodloss that Trisha was able to restrain him relatively easily, and that frightened her a bit.

                “Shh, shh, it’s okay Kim, it’s okay. I’m here. That’s Dr. Black Jack. He’s not going to hurt you; he’s just going to give you something to make you sleep while he fixes you up.” Kimblee met her eyes and she wondered how lucid he was. She swallowed. “I’ll be right here when you wake up. I promise.”

                Black Jack quickly administered the injection and Kimblee was out in a few moments. Sapphire and Zack cleared the bloodied sheets off the bed as Black Jack cleaned the open wound, preparing it for re-stitching. All the while, Trisha continued to hold Kimblee’s hand and stroke his hair. Promising to herself that she would never leave his side again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been wanting to do this chapter for a long time. I've never had to get anything stitched. I tend to make it a habit of avoiding things that would wound me badly enough to have bits of myself sewn together like Frakenstein's monster. My sister got stitches on her head when she used her head to catch the slate of the fireplace. I wouldn't go within 50 ft of her until they were removed. Stitches scare the living shit out of me. 
> 
> spookthemook, if you're reading this, I don't apologize for what I did when I was 8 and you were 5.


	19. Chapter 18: Delirium

**Chapter 18: Delirium**

                “I loved you. Before, I mean.”

Kimblee was sitting up in bed, staring at Trisha intensely; his bronze eyes gleamed brightly with illness, his long hair was tousled and mussed from his thrashing. Trisha had a sudden, frustrated urge to throw something, or to break down kicking and screaming in a tantrum. After all, she’d been taking care of Kimblee for three weeks now, and even her strong will was beginning to break.

                “I did. I still do, actually, but it’s not a new thing. I’ve loved you for years.”

Three weeks. Three weeks of tending to the fallen alchemist since he had come over Mt. Briggs, that strange blue creature in tow, half dead and ill beyond belief. Three long, miserable weeks of cooling fevers and fighting his lung infection and trying to keep the man she loves alive for one more hour…just one more. And now, as if that little slice of hell wasn’t hard enough to handle, Kimblee’s fever-induced hallucinations and delirious mumblings had to be about her.

About them.

“I did. I do. I’m not lying, I love—”

Trisha pushed him down gently.

“Kim, please, you have to lie down.”

It continued to frighten her how easily she was able to subdue him. Kimblee shook his head, almost frantically.

“No. Please, just...listen…”

“Lie down, Kim. You’re not well enough to sit up yet.”

Trisha knows he can’t really understand her, another thing that frightens her, hell, he can’t really understand himself right now. She remembers all too clearly what her professor at medical school had told her:

‘As long as a fever remains at one-oh-four or above, the patient will hallucinate.’

She understands that Kimblee is rambling out of sickness, not truth.

“Nngh…Trisha, I love you…” he whimpers.

But it’s still so goddamn hard to hear him say that, and he’s been saying it a lot.

“Please, Kim. Just rest, it’s ok.” she assures him.

It’s not ok, actually. It really isn’t ok at all. Hearing Kimblee say what she’s dreamt of him saying ever since she had been reunited with him during the war and not really meaning it…god…it’s like pouring salt into an open wound.

‘The patient will hallucinate,’ the professor, grim and blunt, had informed her, ‘and the fever will cause delusions. They won’t make much sense, usually, although…’

Trisha grit her teeth. She wasn’t going to think about the ‘although’, not now. Not when everything from the political climate to Kimblee’s chances of survival are so cloudy and uncertain…

“Trisha...I…god, I…I love you…”

“Here, Kim. Try and swallow these; they’ll help you fall asleep.” she says, finally managing to pry the lid off the jar of painkillers she’s been wrestling with.

She’s glad beyond words when Kimblee finally closes his eyes. Exhausted, she collapses into a chair beside his bed, mentally preparing herself for another all-night vigil.

 “Trisha…”

Trisha jerked herself awake the second her patient’s cry reached her ears. His voice was so fragile…so weak…

“Trisha…nngh….Trisha…”

Trisha, the way he was calling her name…like she was his lifeline. She tried not to let any hope simmer in her chest as she leaned over him.

“I’m here, Kim.” she said softly.

“Trisha…Trisha…” he looked up at her, wild-eyed and openly trembling; from his fever or from fear, she wasn’t sure. The bed sheets were soaked with sweat; his long black hair was matted down to his skull. Trisha felt a sharp pang of…of some emotion that was sorrow and dread and desperation all rolled carelessly into one as she looked down upon his shivering form.

                “Trisha.” Kimblee was panting from the stress of both his sickness and his dreams. “Trisha…I dreamt you… you were gone, and…you were gone, I couldn’t….”

Trisha placed a gentle hand on his cheek, forcing herself to concentrate on how sick he was rather than how smooth his skin felt beneath her fingers. “It’s ok, Kim. I’m here.”

“Trisha I… Trisha I love you.” he was trying to sit up again; Trisha has to press him down. “I do I…please, it’s just…you weren’t there, you were gone and I…”

God…her heart was breaking and her mind had gone numb; she knew she had to calm him down, she knew it wasn’t good for him to be this agitated, this stressed out. She silently cursed the fever and the infection and the mass of scar tissue from the wound that started it all. His expression was so heartbreaking, Trisha could barely stand to look at it.

But she did, because she loves him, and because she couldn’t allow herself to look away from him.

                In all her years of knowing him, of fantasizing about this during the war, she had never expected their first kiss to be this, to be something so needed; to be needed for all the reasons that didn’t include carnal desire. And when the kiss ended, because it had to end of course, Trisha was left bent over her patient, feeling gullible and foolish.

Kimblee, calmer now, slipped back into sleep. Trisha stayed awake, watching him the rest of the night, but he didn’t call her name out again. By the time a few hours had passed, and she was back in control of her emotions, raw embarrassment was already lodged deeply in the pit of her stomach, only measured by the fact that nobody had seen her doing something so against doctor/patient protocol. Having these hours to think everything over clearly left the situation black-and-white: she was an idiot for hoping, an idiot for kissing him, and an idiot for letting feelings buried so deeply come out to run amuck.

Kimblee’s fever broke early the next morning. By late afternoon he was lucid enough to be aware of his surroundings and able to carry on an admittedly stilted conversation. His speech, although disoriented and sluggish, is perfectly understandable.

Kimblee said he didn’t remember anything he said or did while in the grip of the relentless fever. Trisha didn’t remind him.

***

                Kimblee poked at his stitches with a sort of morbid fascination.

                “Don’t do that, I’m still having nightmares about when you tore them out.” a familiar voice grumbled.

                Kimblee smiled as Sapphire clambered onto his bed. Sapphire could see, however, that his eyes weren’t quite focused. The cocktail of painkillers and antibiotics Black Jack had him on must have been doing a number on his brain.

                “I’m real.” she assured him, lightly taking his arm in her beak.

                “Good…” Kimblee said quietly. “It’s been hard to tell lately…”

                “Yeah? Y’ seein’ that weird lookin’ horse again?” Sapphire asked as she settled down next to her ward.

                Kimblee had been having all sorts of hallucinations. Trisha had told them of the fantastic images his brain had conjured up; a horse with entirely too long legs had been a popular one for the past few days, followed by a giraffe that was fond of the non-existent leaves on the tree outside his window, and an IV that shape shifted into a snake. Some of the more disturbing ones had been people from his past. Both the human and griffin doctors had caught him having perfectly normal conversations with an invisible Basque Gran. Kimblee himself had been disturbed by the visions as well; one particularly bad episode was one of Scar with the iron pipe. Black Jack had to knock him out that night.

“Not today.” Kimblee said, scratching her head weakly. “But…I think I’m starting to remember.”

“Remember what?” Sapphire asked languidly, Kimblee was still prone to rambling on about subjects that had little to no context.

                “I…I may have said some things…during the fever…” he said.

                “Like what?”

                “…I told Trisha I loved her.”

                The hand scratching her head stopped and Sapphire looked up at her ward. His eyes gleamed with lucidity.

                “…Well…do you?” she inquired.

                “I do…I do…” and there was a slight breathlessness to his tone.

                Sapphire recognized that feeling, it was the same feeling she had felt when she had first arrived in Amestris, on that snowy railroad, when she had seen Kimblee for the first time and knew he was her ward. It was the tone her father had said the savior of Karama, Shadow Drakkenheart, took on when he talked about his wife Cassandra. Love or a soul link, it was the tone of someone discovering an extraordinary connection between themselves and another being.

                “Then tell her.” Sapphire said, watching as Kimblee’s aura turned a dazzling blue, representing tranquility, and certainty.

                “How in the hell am I supposed to do that?” he asked.

                Sapphire chuckled, “Damned if I know. But you’re a smart one, you’ll figure something out.” she winked. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter a lot. Oh, and you haven't seen the last of whatever f-ked up visions Kim's having from the painkillers. 
> 
> You wouldn't know it, but I'm a huge fan of surrealist art, that long-leg horse is from a Dali painting.


	20. Chapter 19: Rocks on the Road

**Chapter 19: Rocks on the Road**

Kimblee awoke aware of only two things. One, he was horribly hot. But the more pressing awareness was that he was going to be sick. There was no time to even attempt to dive for the side of the bed.

"Oh!" the exclamation beside him barely registered through his sickness as broth and digestive juices dripped from his lips. So much for trying to get his stomach used to food.

"Kimblee!" he heard his name a little better, but the force of his sickness wouldn't let him respond. He felt someone pulling his hair out of his face and a hand began rubbing soothingly on his back. Kimblee was bent almost double over the comforter, all of the broth and water he'd managed to swallow coming back up in front of him. He had almost managed to still his stomach, when a wave of heat rolled over him again, causing the contractions to return.

"Sapphire! I need some ice!” the person rubbing his back was shouting for help, now, and embarrassment and relief swept through him. He felt the collar of his shirt roughly yanked down, causing a surge of cool air across his arms and neck.

Next he heard the tromping of footsteps and a blast of cold air. Then he felt the icy wetness drip down between his shoulder blades, the tumult in his stomach finally stopping. A few moments of quiet deep breathing, made better with a hand running through his hair and an ice cube gliding along the back of his neck. Pricks of pain in his abdomen asserted themselves as the ache in his chest died down while his breathing came under control. Kimblee sagged and used his free hand to cover his face as he realized what had just happened.

"Kimblee, it's alright." the shoulder his head was resting on shifted and he fought against that movement, wanting to stay where he was and not see the mess he had made.

"Stringbean, come on. Trisha needs to clean this up and the Doc here wants to bring you downstairs." a paw fell on his shoulder, but he kept his head down.

"Kim." Trisha was so close he could feel her lips graze his ear, giving him chills that almost made him sick again as she whispered to him. "Stop fussing, everything’s okay."

Kimblee felt so helpless. He nodded against the shoulder and turned to the griffin.

"Alright."

He held his arm up expectantly, hating how he imagined it looked and did his best not to squirm as Black Jack helped him up. He heard a squish and twisted around awkwardly to see Trisha climbing out of the bed. Color flooded his cheeks as he realized he had thrown up mostly in her lap. He heard Sapphire chuckle. Kimblee put a hand over his eyes as he heard Trisha laugh in response.

"Aw, Kim, it's no big deal. This isn't the first time you’ve thrown up on me."

Kimblee twisted again, trying to give her a decent glare from his slightly humiliating position, leaning heavily against the mysterious surgeon.

"Yeah, well, if you keep laughing I'm going to throw up on you again." he grumbled.

"Kimblee!"

"Stringbean! Don't threaten Trisha like that, it's just gross. I'm sorry, Trisha."

"Thank you, Sapphire."

"Hey, don't apologize for me." Kimblee growled.

Just before the door shut he managed to catch a last glimpse of Trisha and the glare melted right off of his face. There she was, covered in his sickness, but smiling like it was nothing. She met his gaze and he smiled coyly back at her.

***

                Dr. Black Jack had decided that Kimblee could use a change of scenery, and bed sheets, so he laid his patient out on the cozy living room couch and covered him with a blanket that had been draped over the back. Then he took Kimblee’s hand and removed the I.V. Zack had helped trail behind him.

                “I’m removing the intravenous. Be warned that there are some side-effects from going off the pain-meds but we’ve been slowly weaning them off of you as it is. You might be a bit dizzy in a bit though so I suggest trying to sleep it off.

                Kimblee nodded and settled down, watching as the mysterious doctor left with his traveler in tow. He closed his eyes and fell into a light doze, light enough that when Trisha entered the room he was able to open his eyes and turn to look at her. She had changed into a fresh outfit and was still smiling at him, holding a cool washcloth.

                “Hey there. How are you feeling?”

                “A little better. I’m sorry I threw-up on you, really I am.” Kimblee replied, looking sheepish.

                “It’s alright Kim, you’re sick. You can’t help what you do when you’re sick.” she said as she dabbed the cloth around his face and neck.

                Kim’s mind flashed back to the night he confessed everything to Trisha. The night he was so wrapped up in fever he was surprised it hadn’t over taken him completely.

                “I’m going to get some work done.” Trisha said, pointing to the desk in the corner. “So why don’t you try and get some rest?”

                Kimblee nodded and settled back down. He slept for a little while, but it didn't take long for his stomach to wake him. Kimblee rolled over with a loud groan followed by several coughs, his lungs weren’t completely clear yet and stomach acid hadn’t helped his throat any. Trisha looked over at him.

"Kim? Are you alright?" she asked.

"I don’t know . . . my stomach’s hurting again." Kimblee said, not wanting to open his eyes.

"Are you going to be sick?" Trisha asked, already getting up and grabbing the wastebin from beside her desk.

"Not sure.” Kimblee moaned, growing frustrated with constantly feeling this way.

"Alright, well the trashcan’s right here if you need it." Trisha placed the can next to Kimblee and gave him a gentle pat on the leg before going back to her desk.

Kimblee tried to stay calm. He tried his best to relax himself. He listened to the grandfather clock in Trisha's living room. He tried to focus best he could on the sound, hoping the steady, predictable noise would ground him; unfortunately, he opened his eyes and began watching the pendulum in the glass case of the Grandfather clock. Swing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

Kimblee moaned again, his stomach churning and sloshing with the time of the clock. Kimblee laid flat and buried his face in a throw pillow. He could feel the queasiness in his stomach grow worse and worse. He felt his mouth go dry as his stomach lurched. Warm bile crept up his throat, but he swallowed quickly. Kimblee tried to use his shaky arms to push himself into a sitting position. He braced his hands on his knees.

"Trish, I think I-"

But he didn't finish his sentence. His stomach gave a violent heave and he doubled over. He placed his hand over his mouth, the only thing he could do to try and stop his vomit from getting all over the couch. He felt something slick and warm in his hand trying to escape, so he placed his other hand over it and squeezed his eyes shut.

Trisha looked over in time to see Kimblee lurch again still cupping his face. She leapt from her chair and knelt beside Kimblee, grabbing the trashcan from the ground.

"Alright, it's alright. I’m right here. Calm down Kim, it's alright."

Trisha placed a hand on her friend’s back, holding the trashcan with her other hand. Kimblee still wouldn't take his hands off his mouth. Trisha placed a hand on his arm, squeezing gently.

"Kim, hey. Open your eyes."

Kimblee opened his eyes and grabbed the can just as his stomach contracted. It felt like his body was trying to wring itself out completely and that if he wasn't careful he would lose his innards too, and not just their contents. Trisha gently rubbed circles in his back, trying her best to calm him. It seemed to be working. Slowly, Kimblee began to calm down. He gagged a few more times before finally stopping. Trisha took the cool cloth that had been next to the couch and wiped Kimblee's hands and mouth, apparently it felt good because Kimblee sighed and his face began to relax.

He closed his eyes and took a few breaths, his head hanging slightly limp. Trisha noticed the alchemist’s hands were shaking extremely badly. She continued rubbing circles in his back, going to sit beside him on the couch instead of continuing to kneel on the ground, her knees were hurting.

                “There, feel any better?” she asked.

                Kimblee just shook his head and Trisha almost immediately brought the can back. She held onto Kimblee, shifting to support him in his fragile state. She saw Kimblee take a few pained breaths before he gagged, leaning over the trashcan.

She felt the muscles in his back contract before he heaved. But nothing came up, it was all dry heaves. There was obviously nothing left in his stomach. "Kimblee," she said, "Just relax. Your stomach’s empty."

Kimblee tried taking in a deep breath, and eventually calmed down a bit. He stopped gagging, but still had a hand on his stomach.

"Ugh . . . that is painful. . ." he whined closing his eyes.

Trisha sat down on the couch beside him and started rubbing his back in soothing circles. "Just take a deep breath. It’ll be alright."

                Eventually Kimblee’s stomach calmed enough that he was able to go back to sleep. Trisha stayed a bit with him before going to dispose of the trashcan, hoping that was the last of Kimblee’s sickness leaving him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha! I'm not done with you yet boy!


	21. Chapter 20: Confessions

**Chapter 20: Confessions**

“Zachary, watch it with the X-ray.”

                “I am doc…aw crap.”

                The patchwork griffin swore and dodged the falling tower of boxes in Trisha’s basement.

                “Zachary.” Black Jack growled.

                “Oh it’s alright.” Trisha said, moving to help.

                However, she paused when she saw what had fallen out of the box at the top of the stack; it was a weather beaten old journal, the leather binding hard and cracked. She knew exactly who this belonged to.

                “Trisha?” Zack asked.

                “This…this is Kimblee’s…why do I have this?” she queried, almost angrily.

                Zack turned the box right ways and peered at what was stamped on it.

                “It says Central Prison, lot number 10862.”

                “Oh.” Trisha said, “That explains it. When I left the prison, the Warden gave me this; Kim wanted me to have it. I never looked inside though…too many memories…” shaking her head, she stashed the journal in her coat pocket and went back to helping the two dark doctors pack for their trip home tomorrow. Kimblee was almost healed after all.

                Once the X-Ray machine was packed for transport, Trisha went back upstairs and into the kitchen to collect the pot of broth she had been simmering over the stove. Kim had been holding down his meals just fine after the painkillers were out of his system, and she was anxious to get his weight back up. Kimblee had also taken to spending more time downstairs, even if he still needed a shoulder to lean on to get there. His favorite position of late was the couch in Trisha’s study, where he had plenty of reading material to keep from going stir-crazy.

                “Mmm, something smells good.” he said as Trisha entered the aforementioned study with a steaming bowl of broth.

“It’s just broth.” Trisha chuckled, “Black Jack said you could try something like oatmeal in about a week.”

                “Ah, I’ll eat anything you cook.” Kimblee smiled, picking the spoon off the tray and tucking in.

                Kimblee managed to eat almost all of the broth this time, he was always good at judging his own limitations...well, most of the time at least from what Sapphire had told her of the week she spent with him in Fort Briggs. 

                Kimblee yawned as Trisha collected the tray and went to put it in the kitchen.

                “Sleepy?” she asked.

                “Hm, yeah.” Kimblee mumbled.

                “Take a nap then, I’ll be here.” she said.

                Kimblee nodded and settled down into the couch; by the time Trisha came back he was fast asleep. That’s when she pulled out the journal.

                _Ishbal, Day 1_

_This place is way too hot. How in the hell do humans even exist in this place? At least it makes my work easier. My old master was pretty okay with me joining the military. I think he knew that I’m too smart to be making fireworks the rest of my life. I get the feeling they want me to use my alchemy on more than just buildings though. Not that I can’t turn people into bombs, that’s easy, and messy. Still though, I’m sort of a one trick pony, like most of the others here. There is this one guy though, they call him The Flame. He can do some crazy stuff with fire. I bet we can ground these desert rats into the dust together._

_Ishbal, Day 2_

_Yeah, it’s as I figured, they want me blowing people up. It’s a living, what can I say? I’m just glad mom passed away before all this; she’d be marching up here to call me out in a heartbeat._

_Ishbal, Day 10_

_I almost questioned myself today…mostly because I used my alchemy on a soldier. In my defense he was defying my orders, and the rest were too scared to report anything. Sometimes I don’t like what this place does to me. I don’t think anyone does. Mustang and I almost got in fist fight over it, all because I called his lady sniper friend out. Okay, not one of my finer moments, but I bet I could have taken his scrawny ass. Good thing they called me to a job before things got bloody, I got to let off steam on some insurgents._

_Ishbal, Day 25_

_This is bad, really bad. I ran into Trisha Lowell from Costa today. I don’t even know what she thinks she’s doing here, it’s way too dangerous. She’s a doctor now, she says she wants to help but I don’t think she knows what she signed up for. Not that the rest of us have any clue what we’re doing here._

_Ishbal, Day 29_

_I got back from a hellish three day mission last night and couldn’t sleep, so I went to see Trisha. Just being around her…it has this crazy calming effect over me. I was still on the amphetamines and I fell asleep right there! Ha. Crazy I know. I’m worried for her, but at the same time I’m glad she’s here._

_Ishbal, Day 31_

_I like talking to Trisha; I think I’ve slept in the med tent more often than my own. I can’t tell her exactly what I do but it doesn’t matter. We talk about plenty besides what’s all around us. I noticed that I’m not as bloodthirsty in the field after I’ve spent time with her, I’m blowing up more buildings than people. The Ishbalans still get killed, but the blood isn’t on my hands when all I’m doing is creating roadblocks._

_Ishbal, Day 40_

_I thought things were bad when Trisha arrived; they just got a whole lot worse. The two doctors who had been helping the insurgents were killed. Okay, so I was sent to kill them anyway but that’s not the point. Whoever did this used alchemy, and he’s out there. We don’t have any clue who it is and, Trisha’s so vulnerable when I’m not there. If anything were to happen…I don’t know what I’d do. I’d probably snap for sure. I need to keep a close eye on her now._

_Ishbal, Day 41_

_Trisha packed her bags and left today. I’m completely relieved. Now I don’t have to worry about her getting hurt or, anyway, she’s safe now. A Dr. Marcoh and two other higher-ups asked for my presence this afternoon. Looks like I’m getting a promotion._

Trisha closed the journal; she knew the rest of the story. What had astounded her was how much Kimblee had expressed his feelings for her. Perhaps he really had meant the things he had said during his fever.

***

                “Things are only getting worse.” Kimblee grumbled as he read over the newspaper.

                Drachman newspapers were far more truthful than any Amestrian rag.

                “So what does that mean? For us that is?” Sapphire asked as she took a sip of coffee.

                It had been two days since Trisha had found the journal. Zack and Black Jack had removed Kimblee’s stitches and gone back to Earth; their time in this world was done, for now. Kimblee had gotten better almost exponentially, and he had even surprised Trisha one night when she had found him in the kitchen searching for a midnight snack. Since then they had been working on getting reacquainted, properly that is. However, neither of them had said anything about how they felt. And, quite frankly, it was getting on Sapphire's nerves. She could see their auras flush whenever they were in the same room.

                “Drachma has pretty much declared war on Amestris, and I’m a fugitive from both the government and the homunculi. We have to run.”

                “Got any place in mind?”

                “Maybe…” Kimblee said as he nursed a cup of hot chocolate, coffee was still too strong for him.

                Later that day…

                _Explosions surrounded Kimblee, and he was loving every minute of it. This kind of power at his fingertips, he was practically a god, and all thanks to the stone…_

_“Kim?”_

_Kimblee turned to find Trisha standing behind him._

_“Trisha?”_

_This wasn’t right. She wasn’t supposed to be on the battlefield. He started to approach her, but the sand came up and wrapped around his legs, holding him back._

_“Trisha!” he cried out._

_Trisha only smiled as she turned into sand and was blown away by the Ishbal winds._

_“Trisha!”_

Kimblee bolted upright and fell straight off the couch, barely missing the coffee table.

                “Ow…” he groaned, his back throbbing.

                “Kim!”

                Kimblee opened his eyes and found Trisha hovering over him. He sat up and hugged her, tightly.

                “Trisha…Sapphire's right, I’ve been denying this for far too long. I love you Trisha Lowell, and I don’t want to lose you.” he said.

                To his surprise, Trisha wrapped her arms around him.

                “I love you too, Kimblee, and I’d always hoped you’d come back to me.”

                Kimblee pulled back from the embrace and kissed her.

                “War is coming.” he breathed. “We have to leave. We have to go South.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, finally moving forward. Actually, I seem to be doing that in almost all of my stories. 
> 
> We are nearing the end of Sapphire's Redemption but fear not, for I have a sequel in mind! Ah yes, a sequel, full of exciting battles, and mysterious legend, new tales to be told and friends to be made, as well as a few enemies. Oh it's going to be fun!


	22. Chapter 21: Piano Horses on the way to Costa

**Chapter 21: Piano Horses on the way to Costa**

Kimblee was standing the desert again, the warm winds of Ishbal blowing around him. But he wasn’t in his uniform, he was in a suit. Not the white one he usually wore, no, this was the black one his old Master made him buy when they had to attend a high-society function. (They were the entertainment) It wasn’t a bad suit, comfortable and smart looking. Now that he thought more about it, he had no idea why he had been so attracted to the color white. Then again, that had been when his company was a little more unscrupulous.

                The crunch of sand startled Kimblee out of his thoughts and he turned, Trisha had appeared and was walking towards him. She was in that marvelous lemon chiffon dress with the pink sash she had worn to the last Harvest Festival they had attended; the one where he had met his old Master.

                “Hey Kim, care for a dance?” she asked, gesturing towards the desert.

                Kim looked in the direction she had indicated and saw three figures approaching them; a man and a woman who was riding a black horse. The woman dismounted the horse and the man proceeded to unload the saddlebags. He produced a microphone, complete with a stand. The horse then lay down on its side and revealed that where its ribs should be were the keys of a piano. The woman then knelt on her knees and began playing. The man tapped the microphone and then began to sing to the familiar tune.

_“Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance, with the stars up above in your eyes…”_

                Trisha laughed and grabbed Kimblee’s hand and they started up a slow sort of waltz.

                “Loosen up Kim.” she teased.

                Kimblee had to smile at this, Trisha’s laugh was infectious.

                “I’m just thinking,” he said, “why are we here?”

                “Well this is your dream.” Trisha replied. “Why don’t you tell me?”

                Kimblee bit his lip, oh he knew alright, but he hated to say it.

                “Because we never got to talk about Ishbal.”

                _“And I know that the time is just right, And straight into my arms you will run, And when you come my heart will be waiting, To make sure that you're never alone.”_

                “Well let’s talk now,” Trisha suggested, “we’ve got however long it takes you to wake up.”

                Kimblee held his arm out and she spun in a circle, her dress twirling about her.

                “How could you possibly love a monster like me?” he asked sadly, “I did terrible things in Ishbal.”

                “All the alchemists did.” Trisha noted.

                “It was more than that for me.” Kimblee stressed, “I got in league with the worst people. I murdered the officers who tried to take the philosopher’s stone from me.”

                That’s one thing he’d never tell the real Trisha. Sapphire had been safeguarding the stone for him, and the fewer people who knew he had one, the better.

                “So why did you stop?” Trisha asked. “You could have easily bombed your way out of prison once your pneumonia had cleared up. But you didn't.”

                “Because you were there.” Kimblee replied.

                And it dawned on him; the answer really was that simple. There was no complicated equation, no confusing array or lengthy formula. It really was that he was in love with Trisha Lowell, and that as long as she was by his side he could a happy, peaceful person.

                _“One more moondance with you in the moonlight, On a magic night, Can't I just have one more dance with you my love.”_

\---

                “You’re still nervous as heck about seeing my parents again, aren’t you?” Trisha probed

They were sitting outside a small café in a small town in the West section of Amestris. They had packed up their things and were headed for Costa, planning to stay with the Lowells until Trisha’s brother, Gregory, could falsify passports for them to make it to Aerugo.

                “Well,” Kimblee said, swallowing a nibble of éclair, “I’m not exactly the model person to bring home.”

                “My parents don’t know about anything you did during the war.” Trisha assured him.

                “Yeah but Greg might have told them. You said he’s a file clerk for the Southern branch.” Kimblee stressed.

                “Greg won’t say a word, not until he’s had a look at you himself anyway.”

                “So behave yerself Stringbean.” Sapphire said from her place under the table.

                The train whistled in the distance and the trio stood up, Kimblee tossing the éclair to Sapphire as they headed back to their cabin. Kimblee had tried as much as he could to avoid pulling any sort of rank, and really only let on that he was an alchemist when one of the ticket takers told him animals weren’t allowed in first class. Sapphire had also done her part to remain as silent as possible, apparently talking chimeras didn’t exist and being bright blue drew enough attention as it was.

                They got back to their cabin and settled in; Kimblee yawned and stretched out, laying his head in Trisha’s lap.

                “Tired?” she asked, running her fingers through his hair.

                “Yeah.” he murmured. He hated to admit it, but traveling was wearing him out, constantly reminding him that he was still recovering.

                “Then sleep, sweetheart.” Trisha smiled.

                Kimblee made a soft noise of contentment and was out like a light. The train wheels squealed to life soon after and they began moving. Sapphire occupied herself with staring out the window; she had never ridden a train before now. Coming from a world of sky based islands Karama had very little room or use for trains and she had always been capable of flight anyhow.  As they got deeper into the West, however, they began passing by long stretches of barbed wire, and clear signs of military occupation.

                “Kim was right,” Trisha quietly observed, one hand still on his chest, “Amestris is at war.”

                “I wonder how Cali’s doing…” Sapphire said solemnly. Even though they had parted on sour terms, she still cared for her little sister.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shortish chapter, just a transitional piece as well as clearing up a few questions readers may have. The piano horse thing I shamelessly stole from Bach et Bottine. And for the life of me nobody has posted a clip of that first scene. It's the only part I ever liked. Bah, oh well.
> 
> Next chapter you get to meet the Lowells as this story winds to a close and we begin to work on the sequel: Sapphire's Redemption: The Mystery of the Mad Chimera Master. Feat. Cali Griffin and Roy Mustang. Oh yes, that shit's happening.
> 
> Also, I know this looks way short but it's actually 3 pages. I judge length by what comes up on MS Word.


	23. Country Roads

“Come on!” Trisha called from horse-drawn hay cart.   
Kimblee tossed one of the suitcases into the cart before grabbing Trisha’s outstretched hand and getting pulled into the vehicle. Sapphire, who had the other case, glided in shortly after and dropped onto the soft hay. Kimblee lay back with a hand over his eyes, laughing.  
“I haven’t done that in years!”  
Trisha began laughing as well. “I know what you mean; it’s been ages since we caught a hay wagon.”  
Sapphire smiled, she could see their rosy auras dancing with mirth. The cart took them past long fields of wheat and cotton, and they even passed by a boy herding a group of sheep down the road they were traveling on.   
“Greg is going to kill me.” Kimblee said, staring vacantly at the clouds.  
“He’s not going to kill you, especially in front of Abby.” Trisha reassured him.  
Abby was Greg’s 6 year old daughter, she was with her father because her mother was a journalist and had been called to cover the rising conflict in the West.   
“He’ll find a way.” Kim grumbled.  
“Oh quit yer pouting.” Sapphire said, smacking him with her tail, “You lived through being speared in the gut, severe pneumonia, a trip over the frosty Northern border and to top it all off surgery. I think you’ll live through meeting this Greg.”  
Kimblee smiled and chuckled. Sapphire was right, he was luckier than words could do justice.   
\---  
“Zolf!”  
Kimblee startled as Trisha’s mother squeezed him a bit too tight.  
“Hello Mrs. Lowell.” he gasped.  
“Ma! It’s Kimblee!”  
“Oh that’s right!” Mrs. Lowell said, pulling back and blushing, “I’m sorry dear I forgot you go by your last name.”  
“It’s fine really!” Kimblee said, waving it off.  
“I just got so excited! I haven’t seen you in ages and you grew like a beanstalk! Trisha said you became a state Alchemist too!”  
“Dear, let the poor boy sit down before you bombard him with questions.”   
Kimblee looked up and saw an older gentleman smoking a pipe and leaning against one of the front porch railings.  
“Mr. Lowell.” Kimblee said, walking up to him and shaking his hand.   
“Good to see you again son.”  
Kimblee looked over Thomas Lowell’s shoulder to see another familiar face leaning on the doorway, Gregory; next to him was a little girl in a bright pink dress.   
“Hey there.” Greg said.  
“Hey.” Kimblee replied.   
“Abby, why don’t you say hello to your Uncle Kim?”   
Abby looked up at the fearsome Crimson Alchemist with a critical eye. After about a minute she pointed up at him and said:  
“You have girl hair.”   
Sapphire snorted with barely suppressed laughter.   
“Doggie!” Abby exclaimed, and ran up to the blue griffin, hugging her tightly.  
“Sure, sure kid, I’m a doggie.” Sapphire muttered, a smile on her face.   
Greg was smiling too as he and Kimblee entered the farmhouse.   
“Heck, you haven’t changed a bit, same hair and everything.”   
“What can I say, I hate barbers.” Kimblee smirked.   
If Greg knew anything about Kimblee’s actions in Ishbal, he wasn’t about to call Kimblee out on it in front of the elder Lowells. They were safe, for now.   
Kimblee spent the night regaling an abridged version of everything that had happened since he had left the small town of Costa. Although they had to gloss over how they became reunited. Kim had smiled as he looked around the table, the Lowells felt like family to him. This place felt like home.   
\---  
Even though he and Trisha had gotten cuddly since he confessed his feelings to her, out of respect Kim and Sapphire took the guest bedroom.   
But Kimblee couldn’t sleep, once again the nightmares plagued him.  
The beam was grinding against his insides, cutting, tearing, and sliding against tattered organs that pulsed against each other furiously, trying so desperately to keep him alive. Hot blood began welling up his throat, out his body. It was so thick, and so dark, so nauseatingly dark…  
And then came the pain. Oh god, the pain. He heard himself screaming all over again, screaming hard and desperately as his nerves shorted out and screamed with him…  
Kimblee shot up in bed, the scar in his side was aching, sharply at first but quickly fading to a dull ache; an old pain for an old memory. In a way, he felt he deserved the scar, it was a reminder that he would never turn back, not now, not when he had Trisha.  
“Stringbean, if yer gonna be awake, be awake somewhere else.” Sapphire grumbled.   
She was curled up on some pillows next to the bed, one yellow eye glaring.  
“Yer aura’s as white as the Fog and cracklin’ to all hell.” she grumbled, her accent becoming stronger the more sleep addled she was.  
Kimblee snorted, “I need to take a walk anyway, chimera.” he said.  
Sapphire smiled closed her eye, putting her wing over her head.  
Kimblee crept out into the hall and quietly made his way down the stairs and onto the porch. He sighed, the cool night air cleansing his senses, bringing with it familiar smells. He loved Costa, because that’s where Trisha’s family was.   
“Can’t sleep, huh?”  
Kimblee froze, he hadn’t even noticed Greg.   
“My…uh…chimera snores. Never could figure out how to fix that in the equation.” Kimblee tried with a nervous grin.  
Greg didn’t seem to buy it, but he didn’t press the matter either.  
“I’ve been meaning to get you alone anyway. We need to talk.”  
If Sapphire had been around, she would have seen Kimblee’s aura drain of all color and fade to near transparency.  
“Talk about what?” Kimblee asked, trying to mask how nervous he was.  
Greg worked for the government, for the military; he could have the alchemist arrested if he felt like making the call.   
“About you and my sister. About your wonderful reunion after so many years, how she saved your life across the border. About your miraculous and sudden release from prison. About what you did to get there in the first place.”  
Kimblee felt his heart drop into his stomach. So Greg had been keeping tabs on him.  
“You’re a war criminal Kimblee, you killed two of our officers, to say nothing of what you did to the Ishbalans during the war. You’d better give me a damn good reason I shouldn’t just call the MPs down here to haul your scrawny ass back to jail.”  
“You have no idea what the war was like, Greg.” Kimblee hissed, “You don’t know what that environment does to a man.”  
“You’re right,” Greg said, leaning back, “I don’t have any idea what life was like on the frontlines. But what I do have is a long list of crimes attached to your name, and my sister attached to your arm.”  
“Trisha’s a big girl, Greg, she can make her own decisions.” Kimblee said, hackles rising.  
“Unless she’s been given false information or perhaps none at all.” Greg leered.  
Kimblee stood there as a sudden wave of cold washed over him. It was a few moments before he spoke again.  
“Fine. You got me. I’m a murderer, and an anarchist. I’ve killed too many people to count.” he huffed and cast his gaze at the patio floor, “I don’t deserve Trisha. But she keeps giving herself to me. Yeah, I haven’t told her everything about what I did during the war, I thought it would drive her away. But maybe that’s for the best. I’m a wanted man now, wanted by some very powerful people. So go ahead and call the MPs, let them take me back just…just tell Trisha I said I loved her before you do.”  
“Heh.”  
Kimblee looked up, Greg was smiling.  
“That’s all I needed to hear.” he said, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a sheaf of papers, “These are for you and Trisha and that blue chimera, illegal by the way. It’s everything you three need to get over the border and into Aerugo.”  
Kimblee stared down at the papers in his hand, the keys to a new life.  
“I don’t understand. You were going to call the cops.”  
Greg chuckled again and put a hand on Kimblee’s shoulder.  
“I just needed to know that you loved Trisha, that you weren’t using her. You’ve got a bad rap Kimblee, but the things I saw today, the way you act with Trisha, the chemistry you have, I know now it’s not a con. I don’t think that person could have done those things during the war. Something’s changed, and I don’t think your alchemy has any idea how it happened. The point is, you’re a decent person now, and Trisha trusts you enough to want to run away with you. You guys want to live a life of peace, and those papers will give you just that.”   
Kimblee let out the breath he didn’t know he had been holding. It was like a great weight was lifted off his shoulders.   
“Greg, words don’t do this justice but…thank-you.”  
Greg laughed. “My pleasure; and remember, if you do anything to hurt Trisha the MPs will be the least of your worries. Goodnight Kimblee, see you in the morning.”   
“ ‘Night, Greg.” Kimblee chuckled.   
Papers in hand, he turned to look up at the starry sky. Now that he knew they could move forward, it was time to put a different plan of his into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god this sat on my computer for MONTHS before I finally got up the power to work on it. Life has not been my friend this year I can tell you that. 
> 
> But I hope you like it, despite my more than usual lateness.


	24. End with a Boom

**Chapter 23: End with a Boom**

  
“Yer a sentimental bastard.” Sapphire smirked from behind her cigarette.  
“Oh shut your beak.” Kimblee countered.  
“No, really, yer so sappy it’s going to make me sick.”  
Kimblee ignored her, putting the last touches on his array before standing back and studying it. It had to be perfect.  
“So, did you think about what I asked you to do?” he said to the blue griffin.  
“Yeah,” Sapphire drawled, “And hell, I guess I’ll help ya out. Seems like this is somethin’ that needs to happen anyway.”  
“You’ll really do it?”  
“ O’course I will Stringbean.” Sapphire smiled. “Anythin’ for my ward.”  
Kimblee smiled back, then knelt and pressed his palms to the circle.  
\---  
“So, how does it feel to be back home?” Trisha asked.  
“Amazing.” Kimblee replied.  
They had taken the afternoon to walk around town and revisit some of their old haunts, before they left for their new place in Aerugo. The town of Costa held so many memories, for the both of them. As they were walking back to the Lowell’s farm, the clear blue sky turned dark and, with a thunderclap, started a downpour of rain.  
“This way!” Kimblee shouted over the din, “There’s a barn!”  
Trisha ran after him and they ducked inside.  
“Yikes! That came on fast.” Trisha said. “The weather didn’t say anything about rain did it?”  
She turned to look at Kimblee and saw that he was fidgeting and looking nervous.  
“Kim? Kim what’s up?” she asked, concerned.  
Kimblee looked her in the eye, and sighed.  
“I…I guess I should just…”  
Then, to Trisha’s surprise, he got down on one knee, reached into his pocket, and held a ring up to her. Trisha looked at it; it was made of woven bands of fulgurite, with a diamond set into the middle. It was gorgeous. Then she looked down at Kimblee, he smiled nervously.  
“Trisha, throughout my entire life you have been this bright, burning spark. You’ve been the one who saved me, and kept me going through everything and…and I don’t want to ever lose you. Trisha Lowell, will you marry me?”  
It was a heartbeat before Trisha answered.  
“Oh Kimblee, of course I will. Yes! Oh yes!”  
She tackled him in a hug and they went rolling onto the straw covered floor. Outside, the rain had suddenly ceased to pour and Sapphire looked down at the barn she was perched above.  
“Way to go, Stringbean.” she smirked.


	25. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

  
_Dear Cali,_   
_I hope this letter finds you alive, because I’m going to be mad as hell if you were caught up in that damned human war._   
_I’m doing well, my ward and I are down south, way south, with his new wife. Yeah, I know, that bean pole got married. It’s pretty crazy, I still can’t believe it. He’s got a good heart, really, I wish you had stuck around to see that. I’ve got to say, getting hitched really settled him down. He’s completely different from when you met him, hell, from when I met him._   
_We moved into a nice little house by the sea, and let me tell you, the sea is amazing, it’s nothing like the legends we heard growing up. There is this weird stuff called ‘sea weed’ though, I heard you can eat it but I’m not about to try. Mostly it’s slimy and wet and gets caught up around your talons._   
_The woman, Trisha, she’s set up a clinic here. We get stuff like food, and this one time chickens, in exchange for her looking after the people. The chickens are a nice touch, nothing like fresh eggs. Kimblee’s taken on a few odd jobs, like things that need demolishing, but he’s got a steady contract with the mining town over yonder coming in. He’s going to help them dig some tunnels in a month or two. While we’re waiting for that to come through he’s become the ‘local alchemist’. Apparently his kind are hard to come by, for some reason since everyone here is on the rune system. I don’t ask, I just try to keep him out of trouble._   
_He’s started to teach me some of this alchemy stuff. I’m trying my hand at making some glass out of sand, and I’m not half bad. Still, I prefer my water magic. Feels more natural. It’s hot down here, though, so you won’t see much ice from me these days. That’s okay though, I think that bastard’s starting to melt my heart a bit._   
_Alright, enough of that sappy crap. I miss you, sis, and I hope when things settle down in Amestris we can see each other again. Until then, know I’m thinking of you, down here in the sun._   
_-Sapphire_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this story is DONE!  
> And this book is done! The sequel will be up by later this year, I just want to get some stuff done first. Like some more chapters of Clockwork Exorcist, Marvelous Adventures of Magpie and the rest of the chapter art for this.  
> This was a great ride for me, and I hope it was good for you too. Peace out!


End file.
